Like It Never Happened
by CartoonFiction56
Summary: After finding a strange artifact on a fire rescue, Marshall wakes up to find that nobody he knows remembers him at all. It's as if he never existed. How will he deal with this? (Rated T for dark themes, including attempted suicide, possible graphic passages, and some possible mild cursing.)
1. Chapter 1- Life's Good

It had been a normal day for the Paw Patrol. Of course, their normal consists of playing, training, and, most of all, rescuing. So, yeah, it was a pretty normal day for them. Marshall was especially proud of the day's work, seeing as most of it had involved putting out a fairly large fire.

It all started when the Paw Patrol was called to the sight of an ongoing fire. Marshall, being the resident fire pup, was put in charge of the operation.

(Marshall's POV)

"Keep that water coming!" Marshall ordered from the top of his fire truck ladder. Below him was a chain of people transporting buckets of water from the nearby bay. The fire seemed to be going down pretty well. But the fire wouldn't be the main problem for long.

Suddenly, Marshall heard someone yelling from below. He looked down. "Please, you have to help me!" The little girl said. "What is it?" Marshall yelled down. "It's my kitty! She's still in there!" Marshall looked around. "Alright, I'll find it. Zuma, take over the pump." Marshall ordered. He might have been uncoordinated and silly most of the time, but Marshall could be a good leader when the time came.

Marshall put on his fire mask and other gear. Then he went in the burning building. It was hard to see with the smoke, but Marshall was equipped with special goggles that allowed him to see.

Marshall slowly moved through the super-hot building, looking for any signs of life. He eventually made it to what looked like a little girl's room. He opened the door, but saw no signs of life. Marshall was eventually able to find a stuffed kitty sitting on the bed. Seeing no other signs of life, Marshall decided to make his way out of the rapidly destabilizing building. On his way out, a section of the wall collapsed.

Marshall was just about to move past it when he saw a square figure in the rubble. He picked it up. It was a small metal box. There was no time to open it just then, though, so Marshall moved on. He was eventually able to make it out safely.

"Is this your kitty?" Marshall asked, handing the little girl her toy. "Yes!" The girl replied. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" The girl gave Marshall a hug. "Ahh, thanks for the thanks," Marshall said, blushing, "but I've still got to save your house." With that, Marshall went back to work. (Remember kids, never ask a fireman or fire pup to save a stuffed animal or toy. Only living creatures that aren't plants.)

The fire took a few more hours to completely put out, but, with a little help from the fire departments of nearby cities, it eventually was thwarted. The house couldn't be saved, unfortunately.

(Later that evening, at the lookout.)

"Great job putting out that fire, Marshall." Chase said.

"Thanks, Chase. Don't you just love our job?" Marshall replied.

"Yeah, saving people is great. There's nothing like it."

"What would we do without this? Where would we be?"

"I don't know, Marshall. But one thing's for sure."

"What's that?" Marshall asked.

Chase looked at Marshall and smiled. "We'd still be best buds."

(Even later that night, in Marshall's pup house.)

Marshall finally had a chance to open that box he'd found earlier. So he did. Inside was a weird rock looking thing with strange markings on it. "Cool." Marshall said quietly out loud. He touched it with one of his paws, causing it to briefly glow. "Even cooler." Marshall said, putting the lid back on the box and storing it away for later. Then he drifted off to sleep.

(The next morning.)

Marshall had a dreamless yet peaceful sleep. He awoke feeling well rested and ready to start his day. He got up and stretched. _It's already light out._ Marshall thought. The thought was interrupted by the smell of freshly cooked bacon in the morning. Marshall walked towards it. He was slightly surprised to see that everyone else was finished. Chase was the only one still in the eating area.

"Chase, why didn't you wake me up for breakfast?" Marshall said as he approached.

Strangely, Chase didn't respond. He just stared at Marshall with some mixture of surprise, perplexment, and even hostility on his face.

"Uh, Chase?"

Chase stared for a moment longer, and then he finally spoke.

"How do you know my name?"


	2. Chapter 2- Memories Lost

"You're joking, right, Chase?" Marshall asked, a bit worried.

"No, I'm not. Who are you?" Chase responded.

"You know me, Chase. C'mon buddy, you're starting to scare me." Marshall was still expecting that Chase would suddenly start laughing, revealing the joke. But, then again, Chase had never been very good at those kinds of things.

"Look, Dalmatian, I don't know who you are, where you come from, or why you're here, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. And I most certainly am not your _buddy_."

"Chase, stop it. I'm part of the Paw Patrol, just like you." Marshall pleaded.

Chase didn't say anything for a second. Then, he laughed. " _You_ , in the _Paw Patrol_? Please, you wouldn't last a day. Besides, I know my teammates, and you are not one of them. Now stop playing games and leave."

"But I'm not playing games! I'm the fire pup! You know that!" Marshall said, growing increasingly worried. _This has to be a joke._ He thought, though he was growing more unsure by the second. Nothing in Chase's tone made it seem like he was joking. If anything, he seemed more emotionless than ever.

"Dog, we've never had a fire pup." Chase said, with a tone of _This guy is totally nuts_ in his voice.

"Here, I'll show you! Follow me." Marshall ran off, but Chase hesitated. "Coming?" Marshall asked. Reluctantly, Chase started following.

Marshall led Chase around the corner of the Lookout to where his pup house was. Or rather, where it should have been. But it wasn't there.

"But, but, it was there a second ago." Marshall said in disbelief. Marshall ran a lap around the Lookout. Still, his house/rig was nowhere to be found. In fact, Marshall only counted five houses in all.

When Marshall arrived back at Chase, he was on the verge of panic. "Where could it have gone?" Marshall asked.

"It was never here. We've had five members for at least a few years." Chase said. "You're starting to annoy me, Dalmatian. Am I going to have to remove you by force?"

Marshall looked around. Then, suddenly, he darted off to the entrance of the Lookout.

"Hey!" Chase called after him, as Marshall disappeared through the doors. "The Lookout is for Paw Patrol members only!" Chase ran after him.

Marshall raced in the front door of the Lookout, tripping on the ground as he entered. He tumbled into the elevator. _At least one thing is normal._ He thought to himself, before the elevator went up. He could see Chase on the ground, yelling at him.

In no time, Marshall reached the top of the Lookout. Just as he had hoped, Ryder was sitting in a chair, doing something on his phone. Marshall ran over to him.

"Ryder!" He almost yelled. Ryder looked at Marshall. "Yes, what do you need?" Ryder said.

"Do you remember me?" Marshall asked, a desperate tone in his voice. Ryder appeared to think for a moment. "Should I?" He finally said.

Marshall collapsed on the floor, defeated. "Come on, you _have_ to remember me. I've known you for pretty much my entire life. I've also been the Paw Patrol's fire pup for most of my life."

Ryder looked Marshall up and down. "Sorry, we don't have a fire pup. Chase or Zuma usually take care of things like that. I wish I could remember you, but I can't. Sorry."

At that moment, Chase stepped out of the elevator. "Ryder, sir, this dog is nuts! He thinks he's one of us. A fire pup, no less."

"Yes, I know, Chase. Still, he doesn't seem to want any trouble." Ryder turned to Marshall. "Tell you what," he said, "I'll assemble all of the pups, and we can see if anyone knows you." Ryder grabbed his pup-pad and summoned the Paw Patrol to the Lookout. The pups, who were playing, quickly but calmly ran to the Lookout. They all entered the elevator in an orderly fashion. No one tumbled in or fell down.

Once they reached the top, the pups stepped forward, as usual. All of them eyed Marshall suspiciously. "Well, pups," Ryder started, "we don't really have an emergency right now."

"Then why are we here?" Rocky asked.

"Good question." Ryder said back. "We're here because this pup-" "Marshall." Marshall interrupted. "-Marshall," Ryder continued, "claims to be a part of the Paw Patrol."

The other pups stared at Marshall for a second. Then they burst out laughing. "Come on, guys." Marshall said. "At least _one_ of you has to know me. I'm Marshall, the best fire pup around. Just yesterday I helped put out a house fire down the road."

"What are you talking about?" Chase asked. "We all put out that fire. You weren't there."

" _Yes I was._ " Marshall answered. "I've been with the Paw Patrol longer than everyone but Chase and Ryder, my number is three."

" _My_ number is three." Skye responded. "If you're in the Paw Patrol," she asked, "then where is your equipment?"

"I don't know." Marshall said. "It was here yesterday. I have no idea where it went, or why you guys don't remember me."

"You're nuts." Zuma said.

"No, I'm not!" Marshall retaliated. "Here, I can prove it. I know everything about you guys. Zuma, you love water."

"Evewyone knows that." Zuma said.

"Rocky, on the other hand, is terrified of it. He can barely drink it. In fact, he once slept outside for two days straight because someone accidentally spilled water on his bed."

Rocky did seem a little surprised that Marshall knew this information.

"Skye, you love flying but hate birds of prey. You had the same nightmare over and over again for four months, the one where you're being hunted down by a hawk."

Skye shuddered at the mention of that.

"Rubble, you love digging, playing, and, possibly most of all, food. However, you really hate spiders. Remember that time when we found a spider in the Lookout? You didn't go back in until Ryder called an exterminator. And Chase, you are the bravest pup I know, but you're afraid of the dentist, or you were until you were forced to go there for your tooth, and your allergic to cat fur and feathers."

The pups looked at Marshall for a moment, before Chase spoke. "Look, I don't care how much you think you know about us, you aren't part of the Paw Patrol. I think you're just crazy."

Ryder spoke next. "Marshall, you obviously have heart, but we still don't have any proof that what you're saying is true. It just doesn't make any sense."

Marshall looked around the silent room, feeling lonelier than he ever had. "Guys, if this is a big prank, it needs to stop now." The other pups just shook their heads. "Fine then!" Marshall said. "I don't need the Paw Patrol anyway!" Marshall ran through the crowd and jumped down the slide, trying unsuccessfully to hold back tears. For the first time since before the Paw Patrol found him, Marshall didn't have any friends in the world.


	3. Chapter 3- Giving Up

**I just want to respond to a few reviews here: (earlier reviews first)**

 **Guest #1 and 3: Yeah, I should have incorporated that. Maybe I still will.**

 **The Red Omega: Eh, I needed something to initiate this.**

 **Guest #2: I might incorporate that, but not to a huge extent. It could make for a good separate story, though.**

 **And thanks, zero, for liking the story so much.**

 **I won't always respond to reviews, just ones I feel need to be responded to. Also, you'll notice that I've changed the rating and category of the story. Those changes will be felt in this chapter.**

* * *

As Marshall zoomed down the slide, he still hoped that he would fall into his fire truck and this would all be over. But, instead, he simply landed hard on the pavement. After taking a moment to recover, and one last look at the Lookout, Marshall ran off.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryder watched him go from the Lookout window. "I hope he has a place to go." He said, honestly concerned for the strange pup who had claimed to be a part of their team. And based on the things he had said, Ryder did come close to believing him. " _I_ don't care where he goes, I just want that nut to stay away from here forever." Chase said, obviously disgruntled. No one objected.

* * *

No one in town recognized Marshall, either. Marshall had no idea what to do. The Paw Patrol was his only family, the Lookout his only home. Where would he go now? Would anyone take him in? Was there even a point in trying?

Marshall asked everyone he saw, but no one wanted to or could help him. Mr. Porter offered him some fruit, which he thankfully accepted, but Marshall still didn't have shelter, or even a sustainable source of food. And it wasn't like he could just go to another city, as the nearest city to Adventure Bay was at least 30 miles away. Marshall briefly considered stealing one of the other pups' vehicles, but he decided against it. They were still his friends after all, and even if they didn't know it, Marshall would do nothing to hurt the Paw Patrol. He was stuck.

The Sun was quickly setting, but Marshall still had nowhere to go. Eventually, he was forced to find a bench to sleep on. If Marshall still had any doubts that this was real, they were all gone. The rest of the team, or at least the team he knew, would never allow him to spend a night without food and shelter just for the purpose of a prank.

When Marshall woke up the next morning, he also ruled out the possibility that this was a dream. Sleeping in dreams _always_ ends the dream. He also needed more food. Unfortunately, the only source he had found, Mr. Porter, was gone. It turned out that he had been packing the day before, and he was relocating his business to a bigger building in a nearby city. Marshall didn't know what to do.

Marshall refused to eat out of the trash, and he refused to ask for anything from his former teammates. So he simply didn't eat, hoping that things would somehow work themselves out.

At about midday, Marshall heard the sirens of Chase's police truck. They went right past him, no one sparing a glance. Marshall followed them a little ways and watched from a distance as the Paw Patrol performed the relatively mundane task of rescuing an animal from a tree. Really, the only thing unique about this rescue was the fact that it was not a cat, but a dog, stuck in the tree, somehow. Marshall wasn't really interested in that detail, however. Instead, he watched longingly, wishing with all of his heart that he could be a part of the rescue. It was the only thing he was good at.

But it never happened. The team got the young pup down in around twenty minutes and made their way back to the Lookout. Marshall was still hungry. And that wasn't about to change.

* * *

Marshall hadn't eaten in four days. He was starting to rapidly lose weight. Desperate, he was now doing what he had long ago vowed he would never do. He was digging through a dumpster, searching for anything that could be considered food. Finally, he found a small chunk of slightly rancid yet seemingly still edible steak. It was at this moment that the owner of the trash inside the dumpster came outside, cursing at the "worthless, dirty mutt" who was "stealing" his trash. Marshall quickly ran away, meat in hand, or paw.

Marshall later sat on the beach, looking at his possible dinner. _Come on, Marshall._ He thought to himself. _What choice do you have?_

But Marshall couldn't help thinking back to the days when this was a daily thing for him. The days after his family deserted him in the city. He hadn't had any food or shelter then, either. And now it was the same situation. Marshall had lost his family and had nowhere to go. And there was no Ryder around to save him this time. Well, there was, but he wasn't going to. Marshall doubted this Ryder even knew he was still in Adventure Bay.

Trying not to think ahead too much, to his inevitable fate, Marshall quickly gobbled up the terrible tasting meat.

Marshall scraped along for the next three weeks, eating anything he could find whenever he could find it. Regular meals and comfort were a thing of the past for him. On top of it all, he felt more and more sour every day. As in more moody. Once, he even considered fighting someone who had caught him "stealing" their trash. He wasn't the same pup anymore. And he couldn't take it for much longer.

* * *

It was a beautiful sunset. Here, sitting on the end of the new dock/boardwalk coming off of the Adventure Bay beach, Marshall was feeling more contentment and comfort than he had in weeks. All of the previous thoughts of worry were gone from his head; in their place was complete and utter peace. Marshall knew what he had to do. He knew there was no point in living this kind of life, without family or even friends. He was universally hated by everyone in town. He was practically skin on bones, he was so dirty you couldn't see his spots, and he knew what was soon coming. So why not make it come sooner?

Whatever bad luck had brought this on Marshall, whatever higher force had caused it to be like he never existed, he didn't care anymore. All he wanted was peace, and that would come in only one way. So, when the sun set was at its peak, Marshall stood up. He took a step forward. But there was nothing to catch his paw.

Even though the water was colder than he had ever felt it before, Marshall felt nothing but warmth as he passed through the waves. He made no effort to go back up. And soon, there was nothing but darkness.

* * *

 **So, this story took a dark turn quickly. What will happen to Marshall? You'll just have to come back next chapter to find out.**


	4. Chapter 4- Regrets and Decisions

**I usually don't update this fast, but I'm really loving this story right now.**

 **You can skip the review response if you didn't leave a review. Or you could read it. I don't really care.**

* * *

 **(For guests, the number indicates what order they posted in. So the guest that posted first would be #1.)**

 **The Red Omega: There's a reason for Everest's absence. That's all I'll say.**

 **Cat: We'll see.**

 **Guest #4: We'll see.**

 **PBJNachos: I honestly have no idea what the green rock is, and I'm not sure we'll ever find out in the story. It's just kind of a background plot item, but it will appear again.**

 **Guest #5: Well, I would consider it more sad than bad. Hopefully the difference is that Marshall actually did it while you don't, hopefully, but then again I don't know your situation. My only advice (advice I have no business giving, but here it is) is this: you never know what the future holds. Who knows, by ending your own life you could be killing the future President or Prime Minister. You could be killing two beautiful children down the road. Or, if children aren't your thing, you could be killing a great relationship. And no matter what,** _ **someone**_ **will be affected by it. So keep going, and this is also extended to anyone else in this type of situation, as long as you can, but if it really gets too much to bear, I wish you good luck in the afterlife. (That doesn't mean I'm telling anyone to do it, in fact, it breaks my heart when someone does this, but you won't be blamed if you do.)**

 **Mattwurm99: Not what I had planned, could make for a good story though. (Unless it's already been done… I haven't seen it.)**

 **Thanks to everyone else who has expressed their support for this story and me. It's the only reason I write. (Well, that and because I love it, and because I have nothing better to do.)**

* * *

 **So, anyway, the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Dude, awe you alwight? Come on, wake up. Oh no."

Just minutes earlier, Zuma had gone by himself to the beach- I'm sure you know why. When he got there, though, he noticed a rock or something that hadn't been there before. When he approached it, however, he found not a rock, but a passed out pup. The same maybe-crazy one that had claimed to be part of the Paw Patrol.

Zuma opened his collar communication channel with Ryder.

"What is it Zuma?" Ryder asked through the collar.

"I just found a passed out pup on the beach. He looks like the one that came to us a few weeks ago, except waaaay skinnier. He still seems to be alive, but bawrely."

"Okay, thanks Zuma. I'll be down there right away."

"Thanks, Wyder."

Ryder was at the beach in a matter of minutes. He looked at the still Dalmatian on the ground with concern. "This looks bad. How do you think it happened?" Ryder asked.

"I have a theowy." Zuma answered. "But I don't want to say it."

"Yeah." Ryder agreed. "Let's get him out of here. I hope Katie can take care of him."

So Ryder drove the pup- he believed his name was Marshall- down the road to Katie's.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" Katie said as Ryder set the barely breathing Marshall down on a table. "We don't know. We found him on the beach. He must have ended up in the water some how."

"I'll need to get the water out of his lungs, if there is any." Katie immediately got to work on that, doing medical stuff that no one else in the room understood, before Marshall suddenly spit up water- a LOT of water- and started breathing almost effortlessly. "That was amazing." Ryder said, slightly in awe. "Is there anything else wrong with him?" "Well, first of all, he's starving." Katie said, putting her thin rubber examination gloves on. "Yeah." Zuma said. "We can see that." Katie ignored him. "His fur is unhealthy. And he's got a few flesh wounds. But, otherwise, he's fine. What's his name?"

"Marshall, I think. Can you keep him here?" Ryder asked. "Well, by the look of him, I'm assuming he's got nowhere else to go. So yeah, I'll keep him here at least overnight. I'll be sure to feed him. After he's healthy enough, I can pass him on to a shelter and he can find a new home."

There was nothing logically wrong with this idea, but, for some reason, Ryder felt weird when he thought of Marshall in a shelter. Like he knew that wasn't where he belonged. It was probably nothing, though.

"Yeah, sure." Ryder said, shaking off his uneasiness about the plan. "You don't need my permission, though. He's not mine."

"Well, I accept all patients. See you around?"

"Yeah. See you around." And with that, Ryder and Zuma left.

* * *

Zuma told the other pups about the situation, and while they showed concern, it was concern for a stranger, not a teammate. Chase even seemed to like the idea of Marshall being near death. It was like Chase felt that Marshall deserved it.

* * *

When Marshall woke up, warm sunlight on his face, wrapped in fuzzy blankets, he was convinced that he had made it to Heaven after all. So he was naturally confused when he heard Katie's voice. Was she dead too?

"You finally woke up." She said. It still seemed surreal to Marshall- like it was all a dream. "Hey." Katie snapped her fingers in Marshall's face, seeing his confused and dazed look. That snapped him out of it.

Marshall took a look around. He recognized his surroundings, but he was still too dazed to fully recall where he was. "Where- what…" "Shhh. No need to talk, Marshall. Take your time." Katie placed a comforting hand on Marshall's neck, which he strangely took offense to. "Hey." He said, now fully awake. Katie quickly removed her hand. "Sorry." She said.

Marshall could now tell that he was in Katie's clinic/pet spa. "Why am I not dead?" He said to himself, sounding a little disappointed. Katie heard him. "Why would you be dead?" Katie asked.

"Because I jumped off the pier. Because I drowned myself. Because… because I don't belong here." Katie now suddenly realized what she was dealing with. It wasn't an accident that Marshall had been in the water. "Why don't you belong here, Marshall?" She asked, with both curiosity and concern in her voice.

Marshall looked up at Katie. "You don't remember me, do you?" "Not before yesterday, no." Katie responded, more curious than ever at why she should remember this random Dalmatian.

Marshall let his head back down. "Yeah. No one does. You won't understand this, but I used to be friends with you. I used to be a member of the Paw Patrol. Now no one even knows that I existed."

"You used to be with the Paw Patrol? My friend?" Katie asked, now intrigued. "Yeah. I don't know why or how it happened, but one night I went to sleep in my pup house, and when I woke up it was as if I never existed. You probably think I'm crazy. Maybe I am. Maybe I made it all up. Who knows anymore…"

Katie honestly didn't know what to think. Sure, it sounded crazy, but nothing about Marshall said that he was lying. He honestly believed what he said. So, being an open minded person, Katie did something crazy herself.

"I believe you, Marshall." Then she got up and walked away, while Marshall stared in bewilderment at her back. Had she really just said that? Did someone actually just side with Marshall?

Even after that, though, Marshall gave a mental sigh. It didn't mean anything, Katie's support wouldn't get him back in the Paw Patrol. She probably didn't even mean it, anyway.

* * *

Ryder didn't sleep well for the next two nights. Every time he woke up from a strange dream, his mind came back to an image of Marshall sitting in a dog shelter. His heart knew it was wrong, yet his brain yielded no reason as to why. Finally, the day came when Marshall was healthy enough to be moved on.

Katie gave Ryder one final call. She didn't have to, for, as Ryder said, Ryder didn't have anything to do with Marshall. Still, she felt bad at sending Marshall away without a warning, especially after what he had said to her. Maybe Ryder would know something about it.

Ryder's face was up mere seconds after Katie called him. It was like he was waiting for a call. "Well, I'm about to get on the train. Marshall's going to the nearest pet shelter."

Ryder seemed uncomfortable. "Yeah. Tell him the Paw Patrol says goodbye."

"Alright. I'll be back in a few hours. Are you sure there isn't anything else you have to say?"

Ryder simply shook his head, indicating "no."

Katie moved to end the call.

"Katie, wait!" Ryder almost yelled.

"Yes?"

"Don't send Marshall off just yet. I want to have a talk with him."


	5. Chapter 5- Full Recovery

**Review Responses:**

 **(I've decided to only respond to reviews that won't be answered in the story itself. So don't feel left out if I don't respond to you.)**

 **Guest #5: Don't feel bad because of me. It makes me really happy if I can brighten up someone's life, even a little. Keep doing whatever you can. And thank you, for reading and enjoying my story.**

 **Thanks to everyone else that left a review, they are all read and appreciated!**

* * *

Marshall didn't want to go to a shelter. He didn't want another home. He didn't want to change families. Not again.

That doesn't mean that he enjoys waiting for those things to come.

"Katie, when are we going to leave? I just want to get it over with." Marshall asked, a bit annoyed.

"We're waiting for Ryder. He wants to talk to you before we go."

"Well, I don't want to talk to him. Not _this_ him, anyway. Can't we just go?"

Before Katie could respond, though, none other than Ryder himself walked in the front door.

"Thanks for waiting." He said as he approached the others.

"No problem." Katie said, before leaving the room. This conversation was probably meant to be in private.

Ryder sat down in front of Marshall. "Hi, Marshall."

Marshall skipped the greeting. "What do you want? Unless you've suddenly regained your memory, I don't want to hear it."

"I get why you're mad, and I didn't regain my memory. But I still want to make things right."

"How could you possibly 'make things right?!'" Marshall yelled, suddenly filled with rage. "Things can never be all right for me! I had a life, and I had a family. Now I have none. I tried to end it. I didn't, and don't, want to start over again. But you couldn't let me die. And now I'll never be happy." Marshall now laid his head down, a tear forming at the corner of his eye. "So why don't you just leave me alone, Ryder?"

Ryder looked at him sadly. "Marshall, you know as much as anyone that when the Paw Patrol sees someone in trouble, intentionally or not, we help them. And that's why I want to let you in."

Marshall looked up. "What?"

"I'm offering you a try out for the Paw Patrol. Pass, and you're in."

"R-really? You're going to let me back in?!" Marshall leaped in the air. "Yahoo!"

Ryder laughed as Marshall landed on his lap. "Thank you, Ryder, thank you so much!"

"You're not in yet. You still have to pass that tryout."

"Well, I might be a little rusty, but I know I'll pass. Easy!"

Ryder laughed again. "All right then."

Marshall's not good at holding grudges.

* * *

Ryder explained the situation to Katie and then gave Marshall a ride back to the Lookout.

They talked on the way back. "Can you do the tryout today?" Ryder asked. "You can wait too; you still look a bit slim."

"The sooner the better, Ryder. I can't possibly fail!"

They arrived seconds later.

"Wait out here, Marshall. I'll go tell the pups what's happening."

"Anything you say, Ryder!"

Ryder walked into the Lookout, where all the pups were playing Pup Pup Boogie. All the pups except Chase, that is, who was just sitting off to the side and observing.

"Pups, I just want you to know that I'm giving our old friend Marshall a chance to try out for the team."

"WHAT?!" Chase yelled, in shock. "He's obviously crazy! Insane! Nuts! He's not even athletic, and probably not smart. There's no way an insane goofball like him could do _anything_ to help us! I won't allow him in!"

Ryder gave Chase a stern look. "Chase, _I'm_ in charge here, not you. You might not see it as a good idea, but if he's really as bad at this as you suggest, then he won't pass the try out anyway."

Rocky spoke up. "I don't know, Ryder, I kinda agree with Chase. He just might be crazy."

Ryder spoke again, this time to all the pups. "Crazy or not, if he has the skills to help us, I'm letting him in. You guys can watch if you want. It's in half an hour."

At that, Ryder went back outside to begin setting up the try out/training course. Just like he said, it was set up in less than thirty minutes.

The rest of the Paw Patrol did come out to watch when the time came.

Just as Marshall had hoped, the try out course was the exact same one the Paw Patrol used for daily training. He knew it by heart: cones first, then a horizontal pole that you have to jump over, one you have to dive under, tires you have to step through, if you're tall enough, which Marshall was, and then a finish line.

Although Marshall was completely sure he could do it, he was getting nervous. And that was when his clumsiness most often showed.

"Ready, Marshall?" Ryder said, priming his stop watch.

"Ready, Ryder. Let's do this." Marshall got down into his starting pose, ready to pounce out of the gate.

"All right. You can start in three… two… one… go!"

Marshall practically leaped out of his starting position. He immediately started to run around the cones, but he tripped on just the second one. He then started rolling, only stopping when he hit his head on the first pole.

The rest of the pups laughed hysterically at Marshall's epic fail. Chase's laugh was arguably the loudest.

Marshall quickly picked himself up and marched back to the start. "I'm going again." He said in his most determined tone.

Ryder quickly reset the course and his stopwatch.

Marshall was now more determined than ever. His nervousness was replaced by anger. Anger at the pups, anger at the world, and, most of all, anger at himself. He stared down the course like it was his mortal enemy. Marshall once again went down into his starting position.

"Alright, start again in three… two… one… go!"

Marshall once again burst from the start. This time, though, he skillfully evaded the cones. He then jumped over the first pole, going right into a slide as he landed. He was already most of the way through the course, and it hadn't even been five seconds yet. Everyone else was stunned at his sudden skill.

Marshall was forced to slow down a tiny bit as he came to the tires: two rows of four. He thought his strategy in his head: _left right, left right._

He stepped through the first two sets of tires effortlessly. He stumbled a bit at the third, but was soon back up for the fourth. As soon as he was out, he lunged for the finish line.

"Nine point seven seconds!" Ryder said, astonished. "Incredible!"

Chase was even more stunned. Marshall had just broke his course record! On his second try!

Marshall was almost as surprised as everyone else. Honestly, he had never gotten through that course without succumbing to his clumsiness. His previous best time was nineteen seconds. Still, he shrugged it off as if it were nothing. Or, at least, he made it look that way.

"H-how?" Was all Rocky could stammer out in front of Marshall. "I've done it before." He responded.

"Well." Ryder said as he approached Marshall. "I guess there's only one more thing to do. Marshall, repeat after me. In dark of night…"

Marshall had already taken this pledge. He knew it by heart. But, what the heck. "In dark of night," he responded, deciding to skip the ceremonial stuff, "in light of day, I, Marshall, will serve Adventure Bay. From runaway trains to stranded whales, I'll rush to the rescue with a wagging tail. If danger is near, just give a yelp! The Paw Patrol is here to help!"

"Maybe you aren't crazy." Was all Ryder said as he presented Marshall with his Paw Patrol collar. Marshall smiled when he saw it and as Ryder put it on him. It looked exactly the same as he remembered it.

"B-but, Ryder, you can't let him in!" Chase stuttered as Ryder started to walk to the Lookout.

"Why not, Chase? He's clearly proven that he belongs. He even knew the pledge!"

"Okay, so he completed an obstacle course really quickly. BIG DEAL. We still don't know if he has any _real_ skills."

"Chase, he's in the Paw Patrol, and you need to accept that. Lighten up a bit."

After that, Ryder refused to talk to Chase for the rest of the night. Marshall was happy as ever. He was once again a Paw Patroller.

* * *

 **This chapter was the most cheerful yet, but don't expect it to stay that way. Things will re-heat up in the coming chapters, trust me.**

 **Coming into this chapter, I could have gone one of two ways: have Marshall rejoin the Paw Patrol or have him move on. I obviously chose option one. However, both would make a good story. So if any of you guys want me to, I could write an alternate universe kind of thing on what would have happened if Marshall had gone to the shelter. But only if you want it.**


	6. Chapter 6- Normal, but not quite

**(Hey, guys. I'm really sorry about the long gap between chapters here. I actually wrote this eight days ago, but a combination of internet and computer problems has prevented me from posting it until now.)**

 **Well, it seems like everyone is okay with this story line alone. I might still do it, but not until after the main story is done. No official review responses today, as all concerns/ideas will be answered in the story. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I appreciate it.**

 **(Scruffty: Probably what happened. Is it weird that I can't even explain a magical artifact of my own creation?)**

 **I can only list two categories on the website, but this story also will involve romance, starting soon.**

The Paw Patrol has always held a celebration for new members. Chase didn't attend this one. Instead, he marched himself to his pup house and stayed there for the rest of the night.

"I can't believe Ryder let that delusional Dalmatian into the Paw Patrol!" Chase said to himself. "Is he trying to ruin our reputation? What do I care anyway? That insane mutt will be out of the team by the end of the week."

Meanwhile, everyone else was in the look out. The pups were spending time getting to know their new teammate, while Marshall was spending time reconnecting with his friends. Marshall also got to show off his moves when the team played some Pup Pup Boogie, which were pretty impressive until he made everyone wipe out with a tailspin.

Overall, the team, minus Chase, seemed to accept Marshall pretty warmly. Marshall was back in his comfort zone. But there was still one pup that he hadn't heard about. So, at one point in the night, Marshall asked Ryder about it.

"Hey Ryder. I just wanted to know how Everest is."

"Who?"

"What do you mean 'who'? How's Everest?"

Ryder shook his head. "Sorry, Marshall, I don't know anyone named Everest."

Marshall was puzzled. What could his non-existence have to do with Everest not being on the Paw Patrol? It was then that Marshall recalled a conversation that had occurred months earlier. The one where Jake had said that he wanted to go on a vacation, but that that would interfere with his new hobby: studying animals that live in cold places. Marshall had then come up with the brilliant idea of Antarctica. It would allow Jake to get away while continuing his study. Apparently no one else was capable of coming up with that idea, and so Jake never went to the Antarctic, and he never got lost, and he never found Everest.

Marshall felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Not only was he without one of his friends (one which he was growing very fond of, if you know what I mean), but that friend was still wandering around the South Pole, eating nothing but liver, with no idea that he even existed. Marshall approached Ryder again.

"Ryder, we need to go to the South Pole."

Ryder looked a bit surprised at this request. "Why, exactly?"

"There's a pup there named Everest, and she doesn't have any friends, and she would be a _great_ addition to the Paw Patrol."

Ryder looked skeptical. "Well, you do seem to know a lot of things you shouldn't, but I'm not sure about a trip to the South Pole. I'll have to think about it."

"Please, Ryder. We have to save her!"

"I'll think about it. It's a long trip."

Marshall sighed in defeat. "All right. Thanks."

A little later, Marshall realized that another former close friend of his was missing. So he asked the person most likely to know his whereabouts: Skye. They were in a relationship [Chase and Sky, that is] (or they were, when Marshall left his "old life"), after all.

"Hey, Skye, do you know where Chase is? I haven't seen him all night."

"Uh, he's probably in his pup house. I don't think he's taken very kindly to your Paw Patrol membership."

"Can you talk to him for me?" Marshall asked, hopefully.

"Well, I could, but why me?"

"Aren't you in a… relationship?"

For a moment, Skye looked at Marshall like he was crazy. Then she spoke.

"I don't know where you got _that_ idea, but my response to it is a strong 'no'.

"But why?"

"He's not my type at all. There's just something about him that I don't like. Sure, he's great at his job, and he's strong, but he doesn't know how to have fun. Really, no one on the team is too fond of him. It's always 'work, work, work' with him. He always has us up at a specific time in the morning, and then he has us train for at least two hours a day. And then, when the rest of us play, he just sits off to the side, thinking about who knows what. He doesn't really have any close friends, and I think that's just because he's not a very likable pup."

Marshall shook his head. "That's not the Chase I know. I'm going to talk to him."

Marshall marched off. Skye wanted to stop him, but all she could say was "Good luck."

Marshall quickly found Chase's police pup house and approached it.

"Chase?"

Chase peeked his head out of his doorway, seeing the incoming Dalmatian.

"What do _you_ want? If it's not important, then you can just leave."

Marshall thought for a second. He didn't really know what he wanted. That's why the next thing he said didn't help the situation at all.

"Why are you such a jerk?"

This got Chase angry. He quickly stood up and exited his house. " _Excuse_ me?"

Marshall quickly realized his mistake. "Oh, uh, sorry. That came out wrong."

Chase was now slowly walking toward Marshall.

"It's just that, you seem, uh, uptight? Wait, no, you're, you're… I just wanted to talk about how the other pups, no, what I think about your, um, personality issues."

That certainly didn't make things better. Chase was now starting to growl as he moved toward Marshall, who was hurriedly moving in the other direction. Marshall realized the potential danger in this situation.

"You know what, it's kinda late. I'll just go now. Goodnight!" With that, Marshall quickly ran back to the Lookout.

"Stupid dog." Chase growled, returning to his bed.

 **Many questions left by this chapter. Will Everest be found? How does Skye feel about Marshall? Will Chase ever warm up to anybody? Tune in next chapter to find out!**

 **For anyone wondering, I haven't forgotten about Forces of Evil. I'm just experiencing a bit of writer's block with that story, and I'm on a roll with this one. Expect a new chapter there in the next few days or so for that story. (If my internet stays working.)**


	7. Chapter 7- Reintegration

**Quick review response: (remember, only ones that won't be answered in the story)**

 **PBJNachos: The storylines aren't really connected, and Marshall already has his memory in this story.**

 **(By the way everyone, I'm sorry if my tone sounds mean or flat in these responses. It's hard to keep it friendly on the internet, and I'm not even very expressive in real life.)**

Marshall went to bed that night with a bad feeling in his stomach. Had he really had that much of an impact on Chase's personality? In this alternate reality, which Marshall had almost accepted as just reality, Chase was basically a big jerk. He shut everyone out, at least when they were trying to be friendly. He never, ever played with everyone else. And he really hated Marshall. While every other pup had welcomed him with open arms, Chase had that look in his eyes. A look that Marshall knew well. The look that meant a dog wanted to cause pain.

In fact, there was so much hatred in that single look that he got in their confrontation earlier in the night, that Marshall wasn't sure if Chase wouldn't kill him if he had the choice someday. This was the same pup that had been Marshall's best friend 'till the end almost all of his life. In a way, Marshall felt betrayed. In another way, Marshall felt sorry for his former brother.

Marshall suddenly grew aware of the wetness on his face. He had been crying. For himself, for his friends, for Chase. "No. This isn't over." Marshall said to himself, wiping his tears off. "I know the _real_ Chase is in there somewhere, and I'm going to find him." Marshall yawned. "Tomorrow."

Chase woke up the next morning at the same time he always did. Seven o'clock, one hour before everyone else. He had things to do. First, he went into the Lookout to wake up Ryder, who spoke to him for the first time since the day before. Next, he patrolled the Lookout grounds for any unwanted pests. He spotted one, but he wasn't supposed to hunt Dalmatians. Then he set up the training course, so the pups could get right to it after breakfast. When he was done with the course, Chase remembered what had transpired the day before. That stupid dog had broken _his_ record in what could only be described as some serious beginner's luck.

After all of this, Chase brought out every pup's food dish for Ryder to fill. After they were full, Chase moved them to five different positions where every pup could have enough space to eat comfortably. And, yes, he had spent plenty of time planning those positions out in his mind.

Finally, all that was left to do was wake everyone up and start the day. Chase did so with his megaphone, and everyone was soon sleepily walking to their food.

"Look alive, pups!" Chase shouted. "We have a town to protect. Let's get the day rolling!"

Chase made sure every pup was awake, even if they had all learned by now that you never sleep in when Chase is around. The last pup to pass him was Marshall, to whom he gave an intense stare and a barely audible growl. That caused Marshall to jump a bit and start practically jogging to his food.

Chase arrived last, walking right past a very confused Marshall.

"Uh, Ryder?" He said. "Where is _my_ food?"

"Oh, sorry, Marshall." Ryder brought out a spare dish and filled it with food. To Marshall's dismay, he put it right next to Chase's food.

"Again, I'm really sorry Marshall. Must've been an oversight by Chase."

When Marshall nervously arrived at his bowl, he could hear Chase talk in a tone that only the two of them could hear. "I don't overlook anything." He then shot a threatening glare in Marshall's direction. "And you're lucky that there are pups around us."

Chase then went back to his food. Marshall gulped and then did the same. And even though he had gotten his food last, he finished eating first.

After breakfast came group training, which mostly consisted in running the training course and other various athletic activities.

Ryder had learned to trust Chase with training, so he went back to the Lookout to do some chores (and maybe play some games) while the pups trained.

"Well, pups, as usual, train your hardest and you can't possibly do bad. Ready?"

"I think you're forgetting something." Skye said, with a forceful tone.

"Ah, yes," Chase said, almost menacingly, "the current course record is nine point seven seconds, held by…," Chase sighed briefly, "Marshall, our fire pup." Boy did it hurt Chase's pride to say that.

Chase had the pups run the course one time each, timing them. Marshall was last. To Marshall's surprise, Chase smiled widely at him. "Good luck, teammate." Kind words, not a kind way of saying them. "Three… two… go!"

Marshall was surprised by the sudden start. Go usually came after one! Marshall stumbled from the start, trying to regain his ground. Chase ran along with him, giving false encouragement. Just as he was about to jump, he heard a ridiculously loud sound in his ear.

He thought he heard the word "jump," but he couldn't fully tell as his left ear was momentarily deaf. On top of that, the surprise of the sound had made him hit the pole hard.

Chase sadistically smiled at him. "Oops, sorry. Must've had it turned up too loud." He said, gesturing to his active megaphone.

Marshall got up. "Let me go again." He could barely hear himself talk. Chase shook his head. "One try per pup."

"But _you_ messed it up!"

Chase ignored him, announcing to everyone else that it was now his turn. He handed the stopwatch to Zuma. "Thwee, two, one, go!"

Chase zoomed out of the start, skillfully dodging the cones and then jumping over the first pole and diving under the second. He then went through all the tires without stumbling once, bounding for the finish line when he was done.

"Dude!" Zuma said. "Nine point three!"

Chase equipped his megaphone, with a smug expression on his face. "Ladies and gentlemen, your new course record holder: Chase!"

Marshall saw this as an opportunity to be friendly. He approached Chase. "Congratulations."

As soon as Marshall said it, though, Chase stopped smiling. He brought Marshall close. "Don't you _ever_ try to cross me again." He whispered.

He then released Marshall and regained his smug smile. He suddenly lost it, though, when he looked at the time. "Well, would you look at that, we're late for the next activity. You know what that means."

The pups groaned. Marshall just followed them as everybody, including Chase, ran a lap around the Lookout.

"Now, you all know what to do. Individual training, and don't forget to inspect your equipment. I will be checking _all_ of it."

The pups all went off to do their own things, which left Marshall standing alone in front of the Lookout. He was relieved when he heard Ryder come outside. Marshall turned around to see Ryder carrying a familiar looking fire uniform and pup pack. "Here's your equipment. I made it last night."

Marshall quickly put it on.

"Now, these things can be confu-"

"Rarf! Water cannon!"

In a few seconds, Ryder was soaking wet. Marshall's cheeks grew red.

"Uh, sorry, Ryder. I got carried away." To Marshall's relief, Ryder smiled. "It's fine. Just water. Let's see if you can aim this thing. Oh, and this is yours, too." Ryder placed a brand new fire helmet on Marshall's head. "Thanks, Ryder."

 **Cheery ending does not mean cheery beginning next chapter. In fact, we should reach a new level of heat next chapter.**

 **Side note (just a thought, not really important to the story): As a fan of both straight and gay fanfictions, it's impossible for me not to see the immense potential in a ChaseXMarshall ship here. Don't worry, I'm staying on this path, but it's a nice prospect to think about, if you like that stuff, and I do. There will be other (straight) relationships in this story, though. I don't know, I guess this was just a random thought. See you next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8- Secret Plots

**Don't worry everyone, it was just a thought. The best interests of my readers are the best interests of me (good motto, right?), but I'm sure that there were a few people out there who saw it from my point of view.**

 **Review Responses:**

 **PBJNachos: No problem.**

 **Chapter 8 already, we're really cruising along. (For my standards, at least.)**

Marshall wasted no time showing his expertise of his water cannon, hitting every target Ryder gave him. Ryder didn't know how Marshall was so good and rehearsed at doing this- was he actually telling the truth before? Or had he learned these skills in some other canine rescuing group?

Meanwhile, Chase pretended to do his normal duties. He supervised everyone and inspected everything, as he said he would. However, his mind was truly somewhere other than work (and that was unbelievably rarefor him). He wouldn't have noticed if something was wrong with a piece of equipment. He would hesitate to look if he sensed something was wrong. Of course, he was actually monitoring that infernal Dalmatian- he was really starting to hate that breed- who was interacting with his leader. Chase didn't like it one bit. Every time he glanced at the two, which was quite often, he saw Ryder laughing or patting Marshall on the head. Now, Chase had never been an attention hogger, it was actually quite the opposite. Chase preferred to stay out of the spotlight and do his job, but now, in his eyes, his job was being interfered with by the pup that was in the spotlight. Chase actually did try to resist, but he couldn't stop himself when he suddenly turned around and marched toward Marshall and Ryder.

Chase approached Ryder, attempting (and succeeding) to keep his true emotions from reading on his face. "Ryder, sir, there's a… a… the front door is broken! Can you take a look?"

"Sure, Chase. I'll be right back, Marshall."

As soon as Ryder had turned around the corner, Chase turned to Marshall, still keeping a neutral expression. "It really is hot this morning. Mind giving me a spray?" Marshall looked questioningly at the other dog. Not only was he being unusually pleasant, it wasn't really that hot out, either.

"Uh, this cannon isn't designed to-"

"Spray me now! It's an order!" Chase interrupted.

Marshall was so startled by Chase's sudden authority that he had no choice but to obey. So, Marshall let his cannon loose. At the exact wrong moment.

"There's noth- woah!" Ryder said as he came back around the corner. What he saw was Marshall spraying Chase. The stream was so hard, in fact, that Chase was washed off his feet and tumbled back a few feet.

Ryder looked at Marshall. "What are you doing?!"

"I- he, uh- he ask-"

"He just sprayed me for absolutely no reason!" Chase yelled, getting off the ground.

"I did not!" Marshall said back, anger suddenly replacing bewilderment.

"Then why were you spraying him?" Ryder asked, still with no idea of what was happening.

"He asked me to! He said it was an order! You mean you really didn't hear that?"

"Ryder, sir, don't let him lie to you. Why would I asked to be sprayed?"

Ryder looked suspiciously at Marshall. "That is a good question."

Marshall looked around at the two imposing figures surrounding him. The fear returned. "I don't know why, but he did! Why would I spray him?"

"Because you're an unpredictable lunatic who never should have been allowed into the Paw Patrol!"

"Stop!" Ryder ordered. He looked at the two pups. "I have no idea what happened here, so I also have no idea who to punish."

Marshall looked quizzically at his superior. Chase did the same. "So… what're you going to do?"

"Well, since the situation is so weird, I'm going to let both of you off the hook. But don't get into any more trouble, got it?"

"I won't, Ryder!" Marshall happily said, happy that the situation was over.

"No problem, Ryder sir." A disgruntled Chase murmured, as he began making his way back to the others. He was sure that plan would work! In the end, though, it changed nothing, as he saw those two buddies Ryder and Marshall sharing a good laugh five minutes later.

Once training was over and most of the pups went back inside to watch morning cartoons, Chase remained outside, doing what he always did when one of his tactics failed. He reassessed the situation and made a different approach. And it was a good one.

Despite the earlier incident, Marshall was now thoroughly enjoying watching TV with his teammates for the first time in weeks. This enjoyment was instantly erased, though, when he heard Chase calling him outside.

Marshall reluctantly got up and made his way out the front doors and to his former best friend.

"Chase, if this is about before-"

"It is, but I'm not mad at you. In fact, I want to apologize."

"Apologize."

"Yes. I'm sorry."

Marshall stared at Chase for a moment.

"Okay." He said, skeptically. "I'm going back inside now."

Before Marshall could turn around, though, Chase stopped him.

"Since we're on the same page, could you help me with something?"

"Uh, sure. What do you need?"

"I need you to drive my truck down to the garage. My paw kinda hurts for some reason and I don't want to risk further injury."

"Well, I am a trained EMT. I could look at it."

"No, it's fine, it just needs rest. Please?"

If Marshall was skeptical before, he was one hundred percent more now. Still, he saw this as a possible start to repairing his and Chase's relationship, so he reluctantly agreed.

"Thanks a lot. Just hop in and bring it down to the garage, I assume you know how."

"Yeah."

Marshall climbed into Chase's police truck, turning it on once he was seated. He began to drive. Then Chase jumped in front of the vehicle.

"Ahhh!" Marshall screamed. It was too late, though, as the multi-ton truck plowed right into Chase, sending him flying.

Marshall stopped as soon as he could to attend to the injured Chase. "Wait here, I'll go get some medical equipment, or something. Marshall then ran back to the Lookout. What he couldn't see, however, was Chase's smile behind his back.


	9. Chapter 9- Reputations

Did Chase hurt like heck? Definitely. Was it worth it? Absolutely, to him at least. As soon as Marshall was far enough away, Chase hit his collar and opened his channel with Ryder.

"Yes, Chase?"

"Ryder… I'm hurt." Chase said, weakly. It wasn't completely a ruse either.

"Oh my god! Don't worry, I'll be right there."

Ryder checked Chase's location, and was surprised to see that he was right outside the Lookout. All that mattered to him at the moment, though, was making sure his alpha pup was okay.

Marshall entered the Lookout just as Ryder arrived on the ground floor. Marshall had no time to speak as Ryder almost knocked him over on his way out. Marshall decided to go inside to look for a first aid kit or something.

Ryder soon arrived at the scene, where a crippled chase awaited him. "What happened?!"

"Marshall… ran me down."

"Why in the world would he do that?"

"I… told you. He's… a… luna…tic."

Ryder didn't have time for more questions as he sensed that Chase was starting to fade. "Wait here, I'll get you to a hospital."

When Marshall came back outside, first aid kit in mouth, he was greeted with the sight of everyone leaving. He attempted calling Ryder with his collar, but his call was blocked. Sighing, he let himself drop to the ground. He had no idea what had just transpired, but he knew it wasn't good.

Marshall woke up to the sound of approaching engines. It was already sunset. The team had been gone for most of the day.

Marshall went right to Ryder when he arrived. "Is Chase okay, Ryder?"

"No." Was all Ryder said back.

"But will he recover?"

"Probably, but we won't know for sure until tomorrow."

"I still don't know what happened."

Ryder turned to face Marshall, suddenly angry. "You don't?! Because Chase said you ran him down on purpose!"

Marshall was very startled, but he was still able to give a response. "What?! Why would I run Chase over?"

"I have no idea. If you didn't hit him, than what _did_ happen?"

"Well… I… I did hit him. But it's not like I wanted to!"

"So I it was an accident? I suppose you just accidentally found yourself in Chase's truck, accidentally hitting the accelerator?"

By now, every pup was focused on this scene.

"He asked me to move it! I even looked behind me before I hit the gas, like I always do! He was out of the way! I don't know how he got in the way, but he did."

"Why would Chase ask you to move his rig?"

"He said his paw hurt! I was skeptical, too, but I did it because I want us to be friends."

"I'm having a hard time believing any of this. By what you're saying, it sounds like Chase intentionally got hit."

"Maybe he did! The bottom line is I never wanted to hit him."

Ryder sighed. "Look, Marshall, I like you. But I trust Chase, he's never lied to me before and I don't think he is now. It might've been an accident, it might have been intentional. Either way, I have to do something about it, and you have confirmed you were the one driving that truck. So, I have no option but to suspend you from all active duty. Indefinitely."

Marshall was shocked and heartbroken. Even angry. "I never did anything!"

But Ryder wasn't listening, he just continued into the Lookout. Everyone else did, too. Everyone except Skye, that is, who hesitated for a moment. "I believe you, Marshall." Then she, like all the others, proceeded inside.

As Marshall watched her go, as he felt the first raindrop of many on his nose, he couldn't help but hear the same words in his head, over and over. _"I don't overlook anything."_

Marshall probably could've gone inside whenever he wanted to, but he wasn't in the mood. Instead, he sat outside, underneath the Lookout's highest level. It didn't keep him completely dry, but it was good enough.

He sat like that for hours, and the rain never let up. Eventually, he heard the front doors open. He glanced over to see Skye coming his way.

"It's time for bed." She said. "I assume you'd rather sleep inside than out here?"

"I'm fine out here."

"No you're not."

Marshall didn't respond.

"Look, Marshall, no one in there thinks you did anything wrong. We all know Chase, the _real_ Chase. The ultimate grudge holder, the no-fun dictator, as we call him. The one that will try to ruin someone's life, and his own body, just because he doesn't like change. What Ryder sees in Chase is a responsible, truthful leader who would never let his emotions get in the way of his job. We know that's not the case. So come inside, no one will care. You'll get sick out here anyway."

Marshall considered this for a second. "Fine, I'll sleep inside."

"Thank you."

As they walked inside, Marshall couldn't help but ask the one question on his mind.

"Do you really think Chase wants me gone because he doesn't like change?"

"Well, he doesn't like change, but that doesn't mean that's the reason he hates you." Marshall cringed at the word "hates."

"Nobody really knows with him. Maybe he has a thing against Dalmatians, or maybe he legitimately thinks you're crazy. Once you've gotten him mad, though, for any reason, he will stop at nothing to make your life miserable for an extended period of time."

"Will he get over it?"

"Based on how much he dislikes you, I'd say probably not. But, who knows, maybe he'll be a changed pup by the time he gets back from the hospital."

"I think he'll just be mad that I'm still on the team."

That got a chuckle from Skye.

"Come on, I'm tired. You can sleep by me if you want."

"You don't have too-"

"Yes I do. Come on, I'll get you a blanket."

And so Marshall and Skye quickly fell asleep, side by side. It was the best Marshall felt since he woke up at Katie's. And, for some reason, he was happier now.


	10. Everest Chapter 1- Past and Future

**So this chapter is a bit different, as you may have already figured out from the title. This is the first of about 3-6 chapters detailing the story of Everest as she… well, you'll find out the specifics in the story. These chapters will be mixed in with the "main" story as we go along. Sorry to anyone who might not be a fan of this, but I have numerous readers chomping at the bit to hear more from Everest. So, here it finally is: the story of Everest. (And don't worry, the stories will eventually join up.)**

As Everest stared at the huge expanse of ice and snow before her, she wished she could say she felt cold. She wished she could say she felt lonely. But the truth is, she was so used to those feelings that they didn't even register anymore.

There was never hope. What hope did she have? She was in the middle of miles and miles and miles of open air, of snow and ice. She was closer to the South Pole than to any civilization. The only living things she met were penguins, and even they came around only rarely. Honestly, Everest had no idea how she was still sane. Maybe she wasn't.

How did it all start? How did one dog end up stuck in the middle of Antarctica? Everest wished she could remember. Well, she could. Only a little.

Fragments of lost memories in her dreams. The occasional flashback. This was how Everest learned of her past, and even after years of these broken up memories returning, she could still only remember bits and pieces.

These things she knew for sure: She was a very young pup when she first felt the deep cold of the Antarctic. And she didn't arrive alone. She remembered the warm embrace of a larger animal, one that looked just like her. Everest assumed that was her mother, as even today she feels warmer when thinking of that dog. There were also people. Humans, quite a few of them. In every flashback, they were there. Well, every flashback until the end.

Everest remembered a very long and hard journey. Sprinkled throughout those memories was the taste of liver, something they apparently ate a lot of. Near the end, though, the taste was more and more distant. Like they were running out.

Then, there was the clearest memory of all: the one with the panic. Where Everest ran alongside her mother for many miles. There was the constant sense that they were running away from something. At the end, she remembered her immense fear and sadness as her mother set her down in a small tunnel and ran off in the other direction, never to be seen again. Everest wasn't angry, though, as she knew that it was not an act of self-preservation, but one of self-sacrifice.

The next few months after that were a jumbled mess of fragmented memories. Everest knew that during that time she built her home and found her food stash, but not much else.

Everest found herself running through those memories over and over again throughout the day, as what else did she have to do?

 _There's a storm coming._ Everest thought. She had become very good at identifying these sorts of things. _I'd better head home._

So head home she did. Home wasn't much, just a shabby old igloo, but it was definitely warmer than outside. And it held everything that Everest held dear.

Everest looked down at her dwindling food supply with worry. These crates of assorted liver had kept her alive up until this point. Now there was only half a crate left. It could last maybe a month, if she used it efficiently.

Where would she get food after her liver was gone? She refused to kill penguins, they're her only friends. She wasn't much of a hunting dog anyway. She could fish, if there were any open water sources with fish. Which there weren't.

So really, there was only one option: leave and hope for a miracle. She wouldn't survive long without food anyway, she might as well die trying to live, right?

 _The sooner I leave, the better. As soon as this storm ends, I'm out of here._

In the meantime, Everest prepared. She broke a piece of wood off from a crate and tied a miscellaneous piece of fabric around it in a way that would let it hold her essentials. You know, like train hobos do.

What were her essentials? Well, as much food as she could carry, of course. But also her other possessions. The ones with personal value.

These included a small brass pin, a scarf, and a watch. The pin was special because it reminded her of what she once was. What that was she didn't know exactly, but it did tell her that she was once part of something important. The scarf was blue like her own, but bigger. She assumed it belonged to her mother, which made it the only piece of her she had left. The watch was just a watch. It was special because it was broken. Everest always assumed it was broken at the moment that her life as she knew it began, though that was probably not true. In fact, she vaguely remembered actually using the watch to tell time during her first few months alone. Now she could use the Sun just as effectively, though it was harder to do near the South Pole, where the Sun follows an irregular pattern.

The last item she wanted to pack was her compass, because the only way out of Antarctica is north.

As Everest packed, she could feel the storm start outside. In just a few hours, she would begin her probably hopeless journey to a new life. But why not try?


	11. Chapter 10- Return to Action

**Review responses:**

 **Guest (the one that just apologized): It's not a big deal. I enjoy hearing about what other people want me to do with a story, it doesn't mean I'll do it. As for your idea, I've already started on a different path, it'd be kind of awkward to stop now and bring it in an entirely different direction. But, again, thanks for sharing.**

 **PBJNachos: Yes, something like that.**

* * *

 **So now we return to the main story, for now. I don't know if I'll alternate between the two story lines or if I'll insert like one Everest chapter per two main chapters. We'll see.**

 **Summer's over (as in school free summer), which is a shame. It shouldn't affect my current uploading schedule too much. Speaking of time, this story takes place in the summer/fall of last year. (I have a theory that every episode of PAW Patrol to date happened in one year, from the summer/fall of 2013 [the period of time when the show was released] to the summer/fall of 2014, which is where this story picks up. Which means most of the pups are approaching one and a half to two years old. Technically, dogs should be more or less through puberty by this time, but the Paw Patrol seem to age slower than regular dogs, so we'll say that some of them are just approaching puberty. Whoa, I just realized how weird this got. So, anyway, the story!)**

* * *

"He should be fine, Ryder. In fact, Chase is recovering much faster than expected. As to his release date, well, it could be this week, barring major complications."

"Thanks, doctor." Ryder said, hanging up the call. He had no idea what to think of this situation. Marshall didn't seem to be homicidal, but Chase wasn't insane, either. Still, Ryder had no choice but to suspend Marshall. He wasn't sure about his mental state, and he needed to protect the rest of the team. The rate of rescues had gone down as school got under way, but life was crazier than ever.

It was 9:30 AM when the first pup woke up. They were all up by ten, when Ryder poured their breakfast. After breakfast, he told the team to go and train on their own, if they wanted. Things were certainly different when Chase wasn't around.

Around noon, a large truck pulled in to the Lookout's driveway. It took a while for Ryder to convince the driver to let an eleven year old sign for the delivery, but it eventually got done. When the man opened the back of the truck, Marshall's still somewhat depressed heart leaped. _It's my fire truck!_ He screamed in his head.

Ryder had the not-suspended Rocky drive the truck out of the larger delivery truck and bring it up to the rest of the vehicles, onto an open spot.

Ryder saw Marshall staring at the truck with anticipation. "Well, you can't drive it, but you can sleep in it."

 _That's something._ Marshall thought. He then spoke to Ryder. "Ryder, how long is my suspension?"

Ryder thought. "Well, I can't decide yet. I want both sides of the story first. It'll be longer than a week, unless Chase admits to jumping into the back of a moving vehicle."

That sent Marshall's mood right back down again. But he knew how hard it was to change Ryder's mind once it was made up.

"Hey, Marshall!"

Marshall jumped. "Ahh!" He said, as he stumbled backward. Once he was on solid ground again, he was able to see that it was just Skye.

"Uh… Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just- you scared me. What's up?"

"It's a beautiful day, and we're all going down to the beach."

"Won't the water be kinda cold? It rained all night."

"We don't have to swim. Come on, unless you have something better to do."

"You got me there. Let's go then!" So the pups all went down to the beach.

The doctor had finally ruled that Chase was well enough to video chat with Ryder about what happened. Within a minute, Chase's icon popped up on his screen.

"Couldn't visit?" Chase said, with surprising strength for someone who had just been hit by a multi-ton police truck.

"I can't leave Adventure Bay."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"So, how are you doing, Chase?"

"Well, considering that I was hit with a truck by a homicidal maniac, I'm surprisingly good."

"You really think he's a maniac?"

"Look at the facts, Ryder! He hit me with a truck!"

"Marshall says it was an accident."

"Of course he does! Why would he tell the truth? I assume you kicked him off the team for this."

"Uh, no, I didn't."

"What?! What did you do then? He can't go unpunished!"

"I suspended him indefinitely until I can decide what his full punishment is."

Chase appeared to calm down a little. "Well, I know you'll make the right decision."

"And what is that, Chase?"

"It should be obvious. Kick him off the team! Heck, we should have him arrested!"

"Not until I've heard both sides of the story. I've already heard Marshall's, now tell me yours."

"Fair enough. Okay, I was just inspecting the yard, when I heard my truck start. I barely had time to turn my head before I felt that thing crushing my body."

"Based on your injuries, the doctor says the vehicle that hit you was moving ten miles per hour, tops. That doesn't sound like someone who was trying to kill you."

"Well, I, uh, he didn't have time to accelerate! Do you really think I would purposely hurt myself to frame Marshall? I'm not crazy, he is!"

Ryder thought for a second. "I don't know what to think of this. None of this makes sense. Until we can sort this out, I'm giving Marshall a two week suspension. That'll give you time to heal so we can really get to the bottom of this."

"WHAT?! YOU'RE SIDING WITH _HIM?!"_

"I'm not siding with anybody. You need to calm down, Chase."

"HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN WHEN THE PUP THAT TRIED TO KILL ME IS STILL ON THE TEAM?!"

"Chase, calm down this instant or I'll have to punish you too."

"YOU"LL PUNISH _ME?!_ I CAN'T EVEN-"

Ryder hang up. It was no use talking to Chase when he was in this state, though Ryder was kind of surprised that Chase had lost his cool like that. Maye there was something more to this mystery.

Ryder didn't have much time to think, though, as his Pup Pad rang immediately after he put it down. It was Mayor Goodway, and the red exclamation point next to her cartoon head told him that it was an emergency. (It's a new feature.)

"What's wrong, Mayor?"

"Ryder, City Hall is on fire!"

" _City Hall?!_ Don't worry, Mayor, we'll be right there."

(Meanwhile, at the beach.)

"I'm serving next!"

"I don't know Marshall, your serves haven't been so great today."

"I'm working on it!"

Before this debate could get further, the pups heard their collars beep.

"There's an emergency pups. To the Lookout!"

As he ran back, Marshall could've sworn he smelled smoke in the air. He hashed it down as wishful thinking.

When the pups got to the elevator, Marshall stopped.

"I probably shouldn't."

"Come on, Marshall," Rocky said, "I'm sure Ryder won't care if you come up to watch. Might as well get suited up, too."

"Uh, fine." Marshall entered the elevator slowly, not crashing into the others for once. Though, that hadn't really happened yet in this reality.

The elevator went up and the pups got suited up. They were minus one in Chase, though five still felt normal to most of the team.

When they got up, Marshall walked off to the side while the other four pups lined up.

"Ready for action, Ryder sir!" Skye said. (No one else volunteered.)

"We need to hurry pups, City Hall is on fire!"

This was truly a shock. "Oh no! Is the mayor all right?!" Rubble asked.

"Yes, thankfully. Alright, I need Skye to spray water over the building." Ryder tapped her symbol.

"And…" Ryder doesn't usually go against his own word, but Adventure Bay was in trouble, and that was more important than issues within the team.

Ryder tapped the fire icon. "I need Marshall, to put out the fire."

Marshall looked up, shocked. "But, I'm suspended!"

"That doesn't matter right now! City Hall is burning, and you're our fire pup. So let's hurry, Paw Patrol is on a roll!"

Ryder almost leaped the length of the room to his pole.

Skye leapt down the slide.

Marshall ran over, but didn't go down right away. He just stared at the entrance, anticipating what was about to come. "I'm fired up." He said to himself, more determined than ever. With that, he jumped down.


	12. Chapter 11- A Rescue and a Secret

**Review Responses:**

 **Brian Johnson: The answer to that is foreshadowed in this chapter.**

 **Guest (I lost count.): Yes, it is SkyeXMarshall, for now. (And probably the rest of the story, unless I think of a hugely better idea that makes sense.)**

 **I was going to put an Everest chapter here, but then I remembered the cliff hanger I left you guys at last chapter. This may be the biggest (storyline wise, not necessarily word wise) chapter yet, I had fun writing it.**

* * *

It didn't take long for Marshall to reach the bottom of the slide and land right in his technically new fire truck. Marshall tried his best to take it all in as his house grew into a vehicle below him, but after that was done he forced himself into a more serious mindset. This wasn't about him, he had a job to do and a fire to put out.

The entire team followed Ryder down to City Hall, which was in fact burning. The flame was still small enough to put out, fortunately.

"Okay, Marshall, I'm putting you in charge here. Do whatever you can to put that fire out." Ryder said as everyone arrived at the scene.

"You got it, Ryder! Everyone, get as much water on the fire as you can. Stop it from spreading!"

"Isn't there something… more important to do?" Asked Rocky.

"It's all you can do! Now go, before the building burns down!"

Rocky nodded and joined the others in their quest for water. Marshall raised his ladder and climbed up, priming the water cannon.

Meanwhile, Ryder spoke to Mayor Goodway. "Mayor, are you sure there isn't anyone inside?"

"No, not that I- Ahh!"

"What is it, Mayor?!"

"It's Chickaletta! She was here a minute ago!" The Mayor frantically dumped out the contents of her purse. "She must have gone back inside for more corn!"

"Back inside? Why would she go there for corn?"

"That's where I keep it all. It's the only place to get corn that she knows of."

"But isn't she smart enough to not enter a burning building?"

Just then, Ryder heard a pup yelling from twenty yards away. "Ryder!" Ryder and the Mayor looked over to see Rocky gesturing towards an open window, in which they could make out the shape of a chicken. In a second or two, it was gone.

"Chickaletta!" The Mayor screamed. She then fainted.

"Marshall!" Ryder yelled. "Chickaletta's inside! Can you get her?"

Marshall looked the building over, trying to guess how long it would stand. "Probably! Get someone to man the cannon!"

"Sure thing!"

Marshall climbed down and put his fire mask on. _Here goes nothing._ He thought to himself, as he jumped through the window.

* * *

Meanwhile, miles away, Chase had managed to calm down. _You're acting irrationally._ He kept telling himself. _Just give Ryder some time. Be calm and he's sure to trust you more._

He decided to turn on the TV in his room to get his mind off of things. That didn't work at all.

"We are now live at the scene, where the PAW Patrol is attempting to put the fire out. Again, if you just joined us, Adventure Bay's City Hall is on fire."

Chase at first was only a bit depressed that he couldn't be there. The operation would surely go better with his coordination.

Then his spirits sank even lower, as the camera zoomed in on an open window just in time to catch the Dalmatian jumping through it.

"It appears that someone is still inside." The reporter said. "We'll keep you updated." The news channel then switched to commercials.

Chase growled. He almost pushed his side table down. In short, he was furious. So furious, in fact, that a nurse soon rushed in the room to check on him. It wasn't long before Chase's doctor was there as well.

"Chase, tell us what's wrong." He said, trying to sound soothing.

Chase spoke through gritted teeth. "He's… there!"

"Who, Chase?"

"That lousy good for nothing homicidal insane idiotic hot head Marshall!" Chase tensed at the sound of his name. Chase continued. "Ryder let him on the scene! Ryder's letting that maniac on the scene of an emergency WHILE HE'S SUSPENDED!"

"Okay, Chase, calm down. Just relax. Why do you dislike him so much?" Dr. Richardson wasn't a psychiatrist, but he knew the best way to relive stress was to talk about it.

"I HATE him! Why?! Because he's stupid, insane, homicidal, he stood me up, and he murder-" Chase shut his mouth at that point.

"He murdered someone? And you saw it happen?"

"No, he didn't murder anyone. I- I just don't want to talk about it."

The doctor knew when to stop pressing. "All right. Do you need anything else?"

"Could you shut the TV off?"

"Sure."

* * *

Marshall looked around the smoky room, eventually moving into a hallway. There, he heard a fairly distant cluck. He stared moving toward it.

As he was walking, Marshall could feel the building getting more and more unstable. Only the occasional chicken noise kept him on the right path. Eventually, he reached some stairs. He hesitated, until he heard a cluck coming from the top. Reluctantly, Marshall climbed up the unstable stairs.

There was a doorway near the top. Marshall went through it, and found a fairly large room. He heard no clucks, though.

He began to turn back when the building shook and the doorway collapsed. He stared at the doorway, horrified, before he heard a cluck behind him.

Relieved, he turned around and began walking forward. He noted the open window in the room, his only escape route. Turning a corner, Marshall saw Chickaletta by a large bag of corn and breathed a sigh of relief. That's when the ceiling above Chickaletta fell right on top of her.

 **Very climatic moment to end a chapter on, eh? There's a reason, and that is that I'm bad at making big decisions.**

 **So, I'm going to in part leave this up to you readers. What's Chickaletta's fate? Life or death? It's not necessarily a vote, but I do want your input for a huge decision such as this. The outcome, of course, will be in the next chapter.**


	13. Chapter 12- Revelations

**Hello everyone. First off, I'm really sorry for the lack of updates in the past month. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with me or my life, I was just much busier than I expected to be. The writing kind of just slipped into the back of my mind.**

 **Well, it's no excuse, anyway. So, again, sorry. If anything, I'm now refreshed and reenergized, the writing thing was starting to become mundane, which would probably have decreased the quality of my writing.**

 **As for the story, it seems the overwhelming vote is for… well, you'll have to just read the chapter!**

Marshall didn't know what to do. It took a moment for his instincts to kick in, but at that point it was all go.

Marshall ran to the pile of rubble in front of him, immediately starting to clear it out. Internally, he was fighting a battle.

The building might come down any second. Marshall's life was basically on code red. However, so was Chickaletta's, and that always comes first to a rescue pup.

Marshall searched in the rubble for what seemed to be minutes, but for what he knew was only seconds. He began to lose hope.

"C'mon, Chickaletta, the Mayor needs you!" He said to himself, just before he felt the floor below him shift a bit. He increased his search.

Marshall frequently threw pieces of ceiling everywhere while constantly muttering "c'mon" under his breath. The floor shifted again, this time more violently. Marshall refused to give up.

A few seconds passed, before Marshall finally saw fabric. The corn sack.

He quickly cleared it, but was very heartbroken to find nothing near it. That is, until a white feathered head popped up from inside.

"Chickaletta!" Marshall yelled. He bent down and she got on his back, almost completely unharmed. "Let's get-" The floor shifted again. Marshall set his sights on the open window.

Outside, Ryder was getting very worried. The fire had quickly grown without Marshall coordinating the effort, though Zuma did the best he could with Marshall's mounted water cannon. Everyone was partially relieved when they heard Marshall's voice calling from above.

"Help! We need to get down!" He said.

"Uh, one second!" Ryder said, running to Marshall's truck. He found the ladder controls and extended it up.

"I'm coming dudes!" Zuma said, as he rose higher and higher. Before he could get right up to the window, though, an explosion sounded from behind Marshall.

The terrified look in his eyes said it all. "Zuma, catch!" He said, throwing Chickaletta to his teammate. The chicken landed right before the dog did. But the dog landed on the first floor.

"Marshall!" Ryder screamed. As soon as the smoke had cleared, everyone that was close enough ran to the partially caved in building. "Find him!" Ryder yelled, on the verge of panic. But they were already trying.

It took almost two minutes to find him. By then Ryder feared it was too late. "Bring him here." He said, and the pups carrying him set him down at a safe distance. The fire was the least of their concerns now; the building was already lost.

Ryder put his fingers on almost every pulse point he could think of. He almost had a heart attack in the process, but he was able to calm himself down and find a weak pulse. "He's still alive." He looked up at the rest of the team. "We need to get him to the hospital!" No one objected.

It was a long drive, one that Ryder feared had the potential to kill his new fire pup. However, by some miracle, Marshall managed to stay alive all the way to the hospital. His life was not out of danger yet, though, not by a long shot.

The doctors took Marshall away as soon as he arrived. The rest of the team took a seat in the lobby, there was no point going back now. Thinking back, Ryder realized that he probably should have left someone behind to make sure the situation was handled, but it was what it was. The entire situation sat in fate's hands now.

* * *

For Marshall, the entire world was in a blur. One moment, he was being all heroic, sacrificing himself for a chicken, the next he was in some kind of vehicle going at least 30 miles over the speed limit, and the next he was in a hospital, doctors all around him. It was confusing. And, all the while, Marshall kept feeling a weird feeling. Like something was trying to yank his soul out of his body and into Heaven. But he resisted as best he could.

There was one time when he thought he lost the battle. He could feel his soul ascending, could see his body growing smaller below him. But then something happened and he could feel his soul violently dragged back down to Earth. The doctors around him seemed to relax a little.

It was a long wait, though most of it was still blurred, before whatever the doctors had been doing to Marshall's body was done and he was left in peace for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. Well, he WAS alone. Until he sensed someone else with him.

* * *

Chase didn't know why he was here. But here he was, pacing in front of a door that was supposed to belong to a certain Dalmatian. Something had brought him here, something deep down inside. It was either anger or remorse, probably both. For whatever reason, it wasn't long before Chase entered the room.

When he got inside his objective suddenly became clear. Chase was here to finish the job. It was as simple as that. All he had to do was unplug all those wires and Marshall's misery would be ended. Yet there was something weird about this. It didn't entirely feel like his own decision. Either way, he approached the bed.

* * *

Marshall was suddenly very aware of his surroundings. Right next to his bed stood Chase, eying both him and the wires and tubes that were keeping him alive. It wasn't long before Marshall realized what Chase was about to do. But when Marshall tried to do something about it, all he felt was pain. He couldn't move.

 _What kind of hospital is this?_ He thought. _Isn't there security or something?_

Chase got even closer. _Don't do it._ Thought Marshall. _This isn't you! You're better than this, Chase! You're my friend!_ But Chase couldn't read minds. Marshall, after all of this fighting, braced himself for what seemed to be the inevitable.

* * *

Chase grabbed a hand(paw?)ful of random tubes protruding from Marshall's body. He was no expert, but he was pretty sure these tubes were the only thing keeping the Dalmatian alive. One yank and he was dead.

But when Chase tried to yank, his muscles didn't move. He couldn't pull the trigger. _Come on._ He told himself. _It's for the greater good of everything. You hate him! This should be the easiest decision you've ever made!_ But still Chase hesitated. _Alright, Chase, no more playing around. Just do it and get it over with. No one will suspect you. You can go back to your life. Okay, here we go._

Chase prepared his muscles. _Now._

Chase gave a slight tug. _Don't do it Chase!_ Marshall thought, desperately.

Chase pulled a bit more.

But then he released his grip.

 _WHAT ARE YOU DOING CHASE?!_ He yelled at himself in his head. But not because he couldn't do it. _YOU ARE NOT A MURDERER. YOU ARE A POLICE PUP._ Then a realization hit Chase square in the face. "I'm a police pup." Chase sat down. Then he burst into tears.

 **Has Chase finally learned his lesson? Maybe.**

 **I'll try to post a chapter tomorrow, but no promises. I'll also try to update at least once a week from now on. See you next time!**


	14. Chapter 13 (Everest Chapter 2)- Hope

**To be honest, this is kinda an awkward spot in the story. I was going to do an Everest chapter here, but that would've been only 500 words or less. However, the regular story can't progress much further if Everest's story doesn't. Therefore, I've decided to roll them into one. Prepare for love drama. (Woooooo.)**

* * *

Skye had been sitting in Marshall's room ever since they let her in there. All in all, that had so far accounted for about ten hours. It was now around eleven at night, but who really cares about the time when you're in the same room as a friend (possibly more) who could be dead the next day? Of course, Skye didn't actually list that as a possibility in her mind, though deep down she knew it was one. Perhaps one of the most likely.

Instead, she tried to keep her mind on happy thoughts. At the moment, she was the only one in the room, except for Marshall, of course. After hours of standing/sitting next to his bed, Skye was exhausted. She had no choice but to rest, so she found a spot along the plain room's wall and laid down. Even on top of her exhaustion, Skye couldn't stop staring at the figure atop the room's bed.

 _He looks so peaceful._ Skye thought. _Like a sleeping beauty._ Skye mentally chuckled (somewhat from her tired state of mind), but at the same time those words set off an alarm in her mind. She couldn't quite pinpoint it, though.

 _Sleeping beauty…_

* * *

Everest had been walking for who knows how long. Her broken watch had of course served no actual useful purpose, which led to her actually almost breaking it (even more) out of frustration. No matter how far north she traveled, no matter how long Everest walked, all that awaited was more snow and ice. Her food was all but gone, she was living off of the fat she already had on her. It was officially hopeless.

Eventually Everest was able to find a small tunnel in one of the snow dunes, which she decided to stop and huddle up in. It was getting dark anyway. While stopped, Everest had time to think. She didn't like that. When she had time to think all she could think about was how hopeless this situation was and how she would be dead in a few days at the most. The only way to keep those thoughts away was to keep pushing ahead, but complete exhaustion made Everest stop, and the thoughts returned.

Everest tried to think positively, but it was almost impossible. She knew there was no way out. Everest had long since stopped believing in miracles, but deep down she knew that would be her only way off of that cold, wasteland of a continent alive.

Faced with nothing else to do, Everest prayed. Not to any god in particular, but to anyone, anything, anywhere. She knew no one would hear it, but, faced with exhaustion, hunger, freezing cold, and, above all, certain doom, why not try?

* * *

It didn't take long for Skye to figure out what those words meant. "Sleeping beauty." It dawned upon her, a huge realization. Who cared if it was completely irrational, a fairytale? It just felt like something she had to try, which is why it only took her about 0.5 seconds to get from her chosen nesting spot to Marshall's bedside.

She sighed. "It works in every fairy tale I've ever read." She said. "True love's kiss."

And with no reason to wait (and a whole lot of reasons not to), Skye positioned herself and did it. It was amazing, too. Everything Skye had envisioned her first kiss as. Yet something felt… off. Something Skye couldn't pinpoint, but also something that was definitely there.

* * *

Ever since his incident with Chase, Marshall had been drifting in and out of dreams, though to the outside observer he never once woke up. His dreams had been all over the place, with seemingly no connection to each other, except one: the clear female presence in all of them.

Every time Marshall woke up from theses dreams, he would sense another female presence right next to him. But it wasn't the same. The pup next to him smelled of concern. She also smelled familiar. It was Skye.

The pup in his dreams smelled of not concern, but worry. As in "I'm going to die" worry. This pup also smelled somewhat familiar, but in a more distant way. Like a scent Marshall hadn't smelled in a while. It was…

 _Everest!_ Marshall screamed in his mind. For the first time in over a day, Marshall could feel his brainwaves registering with the rest of his body. He could feel his muscles, and, more importantly, feel them move. And then the world was different, not like the dreamy mist he had been seeing for the past 24 hours, but clear and sharp. Real. Marshall had opened his eyes, and he didn't even notice the new feeling coming from his lips.

* * *

It took a moment for Skye to realize it, but when she did it was pure excitement. She had done it! Marshall had woken up!

"Nurse! Doctor! Someone!" She screamed, as Marshall looked around frantically. He seemed to want to say something, but Skye brought her paw to his lips. "Shhh." She said.

It didn't take long for about four nurses to come scrambling in the room. They had Skye leaved the room, but she wasn't mad. They had their process.

Meanwhile, Ryder and the rest of the pups had been informed on the other side of the hospital. Ryder was told that he should go immediately, as the first word out of Marshall's mouth had been his name. It didn't appear as if Marshall would remain awake for long.

Ryder rushed to Marshall's room, going right up to his bedside. Marshall was blinking rapidly, seemingly trying to remain awake for as long as possible.

"I'm here, Marshall." Ryder said.

"Ryder." Marshall said, labored. "Everest." He said slowly. "Antarctica. Save her. Please." With that, Marshall began to fade and a very confused Ryder was ushered out of the room. However, Ryder had a sixth sense for emergencies, especially ones with lives on the line. This was certainly one of them.


	15. Chapter 14- Needle in a Haystack

**I happen to like cheese, PBJNachos.**

* * *

Ryder didn't know what to do. Was Marshall right or just having delusions because of his condition? How could he just leave Marshall and search for something in Antarctica that he had no idea where to find, or even what or who it was. Marshall had said "Everest." Unless he really didn't know his geography, he didn't mean the mountain. If he was searching for someone named Everest, the lack of information on that person would make it many times harder than finding a needle in a haystack. And, even if Ryder knew exactly who this person was, why Marshall wanted to find him, and where he was last seen, it would be difficult.

However, despite all of this, the name seemed to bear an uncanny familiarity with it. In addition, while Ryder didn't want to even think of the possibility, it was quite possibly Marshall's dying wish.

 _There must be a way._ Ryder thought.

The following morning, when the doctor announced that Marshall was stable but showed no further signs of waking up, Ryder made an announcement of his own.

"Pups, we're going back to the Lookout." He said.

The team didn't want to leave two injured teammates alone in a hospital, but no one protested. They knew that they had a duty to Adventure Bay, one that couldn't be fulfilled from the lobby of a hospital.

"I don't want to leave Marshall and Chase alone, though. Who wants to stay?" Ryder asked. The group was hesitant.

"Alright." Skye said, a slight defiance in her tone. "I'll stay here."

"Are you sure Skye? We're going to be doing a really important mission when we get back."

"No, really, I'm fine. I'd rather stay here."

Ryder nodded, but he didn't really like it. He knew what was happening: the exact opposite of what he hoped. As the pups matured, they would begin forming relationships, close relationships, among each other. Ryder knew this. It was happening so soon, though. Ryder had wanted to avoid any crushes, romance, or intimacy between teammates for as long as he could. He had failed, but now that the seeds were planted he couldn't stop them from growing. It would be even worse in a few years, with 5 (hopefully 5, at least) rowdy, hormone filled dogs that were all going to be fighting for one female. One of Ryder's biggest fears, besides losing a pup in action, was the possibility of him having to clean house and replacing the team with new, younger pups because of instinctual tensions among the team. That was already starting to happen. Ryder had even partially suspected that one of the big reasons why Chase disliked Marshall so much is because Skye seemed to like Marshall more. Chase had never really shown an outward interest in, well, anyone, really, but he was a naturally dominant pup, the unofficial alpha. Could those mature feelings be kicking in now? It could also be troublesome when Chase inevitably matured quicker than Ryder. Chase could be near adulthood by the time Ryder even started to get there, and that could cause a power struggle. Ryder mentally sighed as he knew he would have to have "the talk" with the entire team soon. (Don't ask why a ten year old has this information in the first place. Ryder's a smart kid, he's probably done some research.)

But all of that was irrelevant at this moment, there were more important things waiting.

"Alright, Skye, keep an eye on them and tell us if anything big happens."

Skye nodded and the rest of the team left, beginning the journey back to their home.

* * *

It was past noon when they got back. They weren't pleased to see that much of it had been ransacked by wild animals (they had left the doors unlocked in the panic of the situation), but it could be fixed. Ryder had barely allowed the team (now only consisting of Rubble, Rocky, and Zuma) to settle in before he called them to the top of the Lookout.

"Alright guys, this isn't exactly an emergency, but it is a huge undertaking."

"What is it?" Rocky asked, enjoying the feeling of standing in the middle of the group for once. He felt like a leader.

"We are going to Antarctica."

No one spoke for a second. Then, one by one, the three pups burst out in laughter.

"Good one, Ryder." Rubble said, almost in tears. "But April Fool's Day is in a few months."

"I'm serious, guys." Ryder said, firmly.

The pups gathered themselves quickly.

"You are?" Rocky asked.

"I am. We are trying to find someone or something by the name of Everest in the Antarctic."

"Just the three of us?" Rocky asked.

"We have no choice. The first step is to find out what or who and where Everest is. Rocky?"

Rocky wasn't the best with computers, but he was the best on the team.

"I really don't know where to start, Ryder. There's so little information. I suppose I could cross-reference the name Everest with all of the Antarctic expeditions or science trips in the last ten years. It might take a while."

Ryder stepped aside. "The computer's all yours. But please try and hurry, we'll only have a few days to do this."

"On it, Ryder." Rocky said, as he set off on his work.

* * *

Skye spent the next few hours pacing in Marshall's room. She didn't get it. She had awoken him with true love's kiss, yet here he was, still asleep as ever. It was as if he didn't want to be saved. Around one o'clock Skye set out to get whatever she could from a vending machine. When she finally found it and got some kind of snack bar (with the help of a taller nurse), Skye started making her way back to Marshall's room. On the way back, however, she spotted another familiar room number. It was Chase's. She had been spending the rest of her time with Marshall, but Chase was a member of the team too. She entered.

Inside the room, Chase sat on his hospital bed, flipping through various channels.

"What do you want?" He asked, slight disdain in his voice. Skye could've sworn that she saw a brief slight smile, though.

"I wanted to check on you." Skye replied, a bit meekly.

" _You_ came to check on _me?_ You've been hanging on Marshall ever since you two got here. In fact, this is the first time we've spoken since you arrived. You probably just passed by my room on the way to the vending machines."

Skye had left her snack outside.

"Well, I can see I'm clearly intruding." Skye said, turning to leave.

"Wait," Chase said, "you can stay if you want."

"Okay, I will." Skye said. _It's not like Marshall will notice._ She thought to herself.

Skye moved closer to Chase's bed. "What're you watching?" Skye asked.

Chase took a long, cold look at her before answering. "Whatever's on." He finally said.

They sat in silence for a while before Skye decided to leave. Before she got up, though, she asked a question she knew she would regret.

"Why do you hate Marshall?"

Chase grew red-faced. "Because he's stupid, delusional, and a kil-" Chase stopped himself as he realized what he had just almost said. He tried not to, but a few tears did stream down his cheek.

Now Skye was a bit worried. She had never seem him like this, all vulnerable and sad. It was kind of gratifying to her, actually.

"What, Chase?" Skye asked, quietly.

"I- it's a very long story.

"I've got time."

"Fine. You asked, remember that."

"It all began a few years ago…"

 **That concludes chapter 14. Next chapter we should hear Chase's story. By the way, no hard feelings, PBJNachos. It was kinda chesy! I don't think the story will be again, though.**


	16. Chapter 15- Chase's Story, Part One

**Hello loyal readers. This chapter was supposed to be posted over a week ago, but, well, computer issues happened. That is all.**

* * *

 **The following is Chase's story as he tells it. It would be most effective in my opinion if you read it as if he is talking directly to you.**

* * *

I guess I'll start at the beginning. I was born about two years ago at a big hospital in a big city. I was small then, and I barely remember anything of the first few months of my life. The first thing I truly remember is my father. Specifically me, sitting on top of him late at night. He was still in his police uniform. I was rowdy, and he was tired after a long day. But he still tried to make me happy, which is basically the story of our entire life together. He was a great dad.

I don't remember anything of my mother. Apparently she left my father a few months after my birth, claiming she couldn't take him, his job, or me any longer. I don't miss her.

I admit, the lifestyle I led early on wasn't the greatest. My dad was a police dog. He, we, lived at a police station. I didn't leave that police station until much later on in my life. It was a big place, though. I remember exploring at a very young age and getting into all kinds of trouble. My dad always bailed me out, though.

The most exciting day of my young life came when I was no more than six months old. That was the day that my dad decided to take me with him on his duties. Not much actually happened that day, but to me it was a lot of information. That day breezed by. My dad noticed how much I loved watching what he did, and so soon after this day he put me in a police pup training program. I loved every moment of it. In that program I learned all the ins and outs of the police dog business. Basically, it's where I learned all of my current skills. Finally, when I was about nine months old, my dad took me on another patrol, but this time he promised that I could get involved. I was so excited. So excited…

He never expected anything of note to happen that day. I hoped something would happen, so I could finally prove to my dad that all of his sacrifices helping me to grow up didn't go wasted. It was my master plan, I would save my dad from something terrible. I would win a medal, maybe even graduate early from the training program. My dad would be so proud. We would go on to work together, father and son, the best crime fighting duo in the entire country.

To think I wished this would happen… Well, my wish was granted. Deep down, I hate myself for it. I know it had no correlation, but if I had just sat back, if I wasn't so eager…

IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO DIFFERENT!

But it wasn't… There's no point in regret or "what if" scenarios, but I can't help myself.

It was a perfect morning and a perfect day. It was all going perfectly according to my grand scheme. Now I just needed something to happen.

I didn't really expect anything to happen. The crime rate in the city had been going down for 13 straight months. Gang violence was down a lot too. Then again, thinking back, those stats probably weren't real anyway.

Our police officer- I can never remember his name- had planned to patrol the alleyways on this day, and he certainly did. The first six alleys were clear, save for a few homeless guys and a lot of trash. All we had left was the seventh, and we could go back to the station.

I was actually worried as our officer slowly rolled the car down that alley. This was my last chance to prove myself to my father. I wanted something to happen so badly, that I barely noticed what happened next.

It literally happened in one single split second. One moment, we were cruising down an alleyway, my dad and the police officer talking about something incredibly mundane, and the next there was red everywhere and a loud sound echoing between the buildings.

I was stunned. It took me a long time to figure out what had occurred. The officer had been shot, right in the head. He was dead, no question. When I finally regained control of my senses, I saw none other than my father, standing over the officer, trying to see if he was still alive. It was hopeless.

Meanwhile, through all of this chaos, that young, stupid version of me saw his chance. I stood up, shakily at first, but slowly regaining my confidence. Somehow, maybe through an already open door, maybe even through the open window, I ended up outside. Directly in front of me was a group of people, which I assumed to be one of the "gangs" that everyone at the station talked about so often. There were about five men in that group, three lanky guys and two big burly guys. One of the skinny guys was holding a gun, smiling. I think I even saw him high five one of the big guys. Then he noticed me.

He looked directly at me. Then he burst out laughing. I was filled with rage. To me, all this man was was a dirty criminal with no respect for the law or human life, and now he was laughing at me.

To be honest, he was probably justified. Can you imagine? You just shot a police officer in the head as he rode by in his patrol car and then you see a little, shaky puppy in police clothes a little too big for him looking at you like he's about to cry. I probably would have laughed too.

But now, filled with rage, I started running as fast as I could right towards this man and his group, not even considering the deadly weapon in his hand or the fact that either one of the big guys could kill me with a single stomp. All the while, the laughter only grew louder. At this time another voice joined the mix. It was my fathers, and though I couldn't really make out his words, I'm pretty sure he was telling me to come back. Even if I had heard him clearly, I don't think I would have.

I ran for what seemed liked forever. Finally, I was almost there. But that's when the most terrifying sound I've ever heard entered my ears. It was the sound of multiple fully grown, aggressive dogs growling with all of their might. I stopped in my tracks.

They were huge, at least compared to me at the time. But they were also skinny and dirty. It was hard to make out, but I was able to decipher that these two dogs standing in front of me were in fact Dalmatians, probably starved to near-death in order to make them aggressive killing machines. They didn't say a word in English, but their message was clear. They fully intended to kill me and pick my cold, hard body clean of anything that even resembled meat, yet I could not move. I was paralyzed with fear.

I should've died then and there. I didn't, though. Just as those huge, snarling dogs began to move in on me, I felt a whoosh of air overhead. Suddenly there was another dog in front of me, but this one was facing away from me and his fur matched my colors. He engaged the two dogs, and for the longest time I just sat there, dumbly. Finally, my dad turned around and screamed at the top of his lungs. He was telling me to run.

I did.

I didn't get to see what happened after that, but I do know that when I caught my last glimpse of the action my father seemed to be winning. I genuinely believed that he could do it. Stupid little me.

I ran all the way back to the police station. At first, I couldn't get the words out, but they eventually got my meaning. They sent out cars as soon as possible, but it was far too late.

I expected my father to return with some battle scars, but victorious. When he returned, he was definitely covered in battle scars. He was not victorious.

I remember that last moment so vividly. That moment when he entered the hospital doors. They say that he died on the ambulance ride, but I know what I saw. He was alive. He was definitely alive, and, in that last moment, he looked right at me. He didn't say anything, he couldn't. But his look said it all.

He said that everything would be alright, as he always did. He said that no matter what happened, he knew that I would one day reach my potential as a police dog, with him or without.

For that one moment, I felt completely safe. But after that moment, after he was gone, I immediately felt alone. So alone. I'll never forget that feeling. There was no one to help me, no one in this world who really cared about me. And then there was that other feeling, the one of guilt, for I knew one thing: I was responsible for my own father's death.

* * *

 **To be continued.**


	17. Chapter 16- Chase's Story, Part Two

**My new year's resolution: Post new chapters more than once a month. I'm really sorry. I was going to give you four chapters to make up for it, but that proved a bit much to write in two hours, so instead here's two fairly long ones.**

 **Chase's story- continued:**

* * *

Though the officers and police dogs themselves tried to find a way to make me feel better "after my loss", the police station didn't have room for a half-trained police puppy. That wasn't their job. They got the dogs when they were already mostly ready for action, and they trained the rest in the field. The only reason I was there before is because my father lived "on campus", unlike many other police dogs who live with their police officer. I guess it just suited him. However, I was now just an annoyance. After a week or two, they shipped me off fifty miles away to my uncle, who was a retired police dog himself, but was never truly able to adjust to a normal life. By the time I got there, he was a constant drunk with little to no income at times that lived in a tiny, run-down apartment. I lived with him for two weeks before I finally realized that this was not working out. I packed up and ran away, and I'm not sure he even noticed. In fact, I'm not even sure that he ever really got around to memorizing my name. He died just recently of alcohol poisoning. I honestly don't miss him.

I lived on the streets for what seemed like forever. It was really only about a month, I'm told, but between my fits of starvation and the endless, sleepless nights I spent in the backs of alleys that were not controlled by gangs, it felt like a pretty long time. By the end of that, though, I was a pretty hardened little pup. I had learned where to find food- the locations of the "good" dumpsters, the restaurants with cooks just nice enough to spare a tiny bit for a starving, homeless puppy. I grew a tough skin during those times, but I also grew a nice pair of heart-melting puppy eyes.

After a month of that, I decided that I didn't want to live like this for my entire life, like most of the scarred and grizzled veterans of those alleys had. I had overheard stories of the "nice" side of town. No stray from the slums ever went over there because they had dog catchers and such, but the ones who had made it there and back spoke of the endless buffet they had witnessed; I even heard one old yet kind (or at least kind compared to the other adults out there) dog claiming that he must have gained thirty pounds in his twenty minutes there.

I didn't really want to go to the pound, but I decided it was worth the risk. And so, one dark night, I set off to the other side of town. It took all night, but I made it. Once I saw the nice, new roads and sidewalks and the "fancy" restaurants, I knew I had arrived. I quickly found a short alley and collapsed of exhaustion. When I woke up, it was in the arms of a huge man. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE. His forearms alone seemed bigger than my entire body. They also seemed to contain more hair. He was clearly not impressed as he carried me though his restaurant. He was mumbling things like "dirty mutt" and "must be trying to steal all my food" and "I would kill this thing if I had discovered it after hours." Luckily, it seemed to be right in the middle of the business day in whatever business this guy was running.

I was terrified, but not for long. Soon we entered a new room, a room that almost made my nose explode with joy. In the air were glorious scents of all kinds of delicious foods, from spaghetti to hot dogs. Or, at least I think I smelled all of that. I may have been fantasizing just a bit.

It didn't matter. That man's grip was so strong I wouldn't be surprised if he could hold an elephant by the trunk. I wasn't escaping, and I wasn't even going to try after what this man had threatened. He went straight toward a certain place on the wall, where I soon noticed a phone sat. He set me down roughly but kept his foot on my tail, ensuring I couldn't escape. I still wouldn't have tried either way. In any case, he picked up the phone and started angrily dialing. "This is the last thing I need." He said in a scary tone as he waited for whoever was on the other end to pick up. He grew very impatient, constantly increasing the pressure on my tail, but the call was finally answered.

"Hello, city pound? Sure, animal control, whatever. I have a stray dog here, I need you to pick him up as soon as possible." He paused, seemingly listening to the other end. "He's pretty small, that's all I know." He said, very impatiently. The pressure on my tail was still increasing. "How the hell should I know?! He's a stray dog, I have no idea about breeds. Just come and get him! What do you mean you can't?!" The pressure on my tail increased incredibly. "Well tell your lazy ass dog catcher to get his lazy ass over to my restaurant and pick up this mutt! Oh, YOU don't like MY tone, huh? Well, I'll tell you what, you better send your good for nothing employee to pick up this dog or I will personally come over there and rip- Hello?" He slammed the phone back onto the wall. I was surprised that the entire building didn't come down. Then, for the first time, he looked directly at me, his eyes filled with rage.

I might be dead right now if it wasn't for what happened next.

"Woah! Is that a puppy?" I heard a young voice ask.

"Yes, it is. Now get back to your pasta. I'll deal with this mutt."

The other voice didn't seem to get his meaning. "Can we keep him?" The voice, which I assumed belonged to a young boy, asked.

The man finally looked away from me and over at the source of the other voice, which was in fact a young boy.

"Since when do you get to make requests?!" The man asked, picking me up in an even tighter grip than before and quickly making his way over to the boy, who stood in front of a large metallic pot.

 _Isn't child labor illegal?_ The police dog side of me asked.

The boy looked down. "Sorry, sir."

"Oh, I'll show you the true meaning of sorry! Come here!" The man roughly grabbed the boy's arm, but he resisted for just long enough to make my move. With no hesitation, I opened my mouth as wide as I could and bit down with as much force as possible.

The man yelled at the top of his lungs, which was quite terrifying. The boy was not very shaken, however, as after only a split second of hesitation he scooped me up and took us both out of that building. As we left the door and got out onto the street, I was able to look back at the building from which we came. It was a two story building that looked strangely foreign here in this city. I soon found out why as I looked at the large green sign above the door. It read: **RYDER'S AUTHENTIC ITALIAN CUISINE**

The boy, which I now assumed to be the man's son, ran for a long time before he stopped in a busy city square.

"I think we lost him." He said to me. "I'm Zack, but-" He looked back at the direction of the Italian restaurant we had come from-"you can call me Ryder, I guess. I like it better anyway."

"I'm Chase." I said back.

"Woah, you talk?" He said in awe. "I've heard of talking dogs, but I never thought I'd meet one."

He looked around. "I guess we're both homeless now." He said, with a bit of sadness but mostly the sound of determination.

He looked back at me, his eyes telling me that what he was about to say was very important. "Look, Chase, I have an idea. It might sound crazy, but it could work."

And so he explained to me how he hid away comics from his father, who apparently hated anything other than hard "work" (I like to call it slave labor), comics about a team of super talking dogs called the PAW Patrollers. He explained how he wanted to make them a reality, and how he had a rich uncle that could possibly help us not only get far away from here but help us set up our operation. His uncle agreed, of course, but only because he wanted Ryder to get away from his father.

And so it was that we had the beginnings of what would one day become the PAW Patrol. Over the next few months we collected other talking dogs with special skills. And that really just leads up to the present, until that idiot Marshall showed up.

So you have my story. Are you happier now? More satisfied? I certainly hope you are, because you have no idea how painful it was to recount these events.

* * *

 **In the "original" timeline, Marshall found Chase during his time on the street and they banded together, with Chase not even considering that his closest friend was of the same species that killed his father. They found Ryder together and started the PAW Patrol together, becoming inseparable. However, since in this reality Marshall never existed, Chase instead grew bitter with age and came to hate all Dalmatians, especially this pesky new one.**


	18. Chapter 17- Scars

**I got Fallout 4 for Christmas. That may or may not have contributed to my lack of posting over Christmas Break.**

 **Anyway, we now return to the "real" world. Hopefully you've gained some insight into Chase's motives. I have.**

* * *

"Wow, Chase, I never knew… well, any of that."

"I know." Chase said coldly. "I've kept it a secret for a reason. I quite honestly don't know why I told you. Now could you please leave?"

"But… I just heard your life story. Can't I stay here just a little longer?"

"Skye, this isn't some sort of fairytale! Yes, you now know my life story, and I regret it already. Just because I "opened up" to you does not mean that we'll suddenly fall in love in my time of weakness or that I've changed at all. I mean, I know you're desperate, Skye, but this is low."

Skye took a step back. "De… DESPERATE? That's what you think this is?! Chase, I thought that maybe you finally revealing the big secret about your past would have showed you what a, well, prick you are all the time, but I guess some people just never change."

Skye lifted her head and glared away, but she did not move.

"Well?" Chase said, impatiently. "You can run on home to your boyfriend Marshall now. I won't be offended, trust me."

Skye flinched, looked directly at Chase with hurt eyes, and ran out of the room on the verge of tears.

Now that Skye was gone, however, Chase could really open up. He let out tears that he had been holding in for months, which was like years to a pup. He cried for his father, for what he had done then, and for what he had become now. He had just tried to commit a murder 24 hours earlier. That made him no better than the Dalmatians that had killed his father. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt bad for those huge dogs. They were starved. They were forced to fight for their food. He knew it wasn't their, or Marshall's fault. It was nobody's but his own. And, as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that he had just blown his one chance to repent his sins and finally make real friends. Marshall wanted, or at least wanted, to be his friend. Skye wanted to be his friend. Ryder was his friend. The rest of the team probably wanted to be friends with him, too. But he had blown that.

As Chase stared at the wall, in tears, the door opened, but it was not a dog. It was the doctor. "Good news, Chase." He said. "You've healed much faster than expected. It would be okay for you to go home, if you want."

When Chase gave no response, the doctor looked up from his clipboard. "Oh my gosh, are you okay, Chase?"

"I'm fine doc."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Chase fell silent and thought about going home. Now that he thought about it, it didn't really feel like home any more. "Yes, I think I'd like to go home, doctor."

"Well alrighty then. I'll contact Ryder." The doctor left the room, and Chase was alone again. Then he started a light chuckle, not because he was going home, but because his only friend was his doctor.

* * *

"What do you have, Rocky?" Ryder asked. It was late at night, but Ryder had to know what Marshall had meant.

"Not much, Ryder." Rocky replied. "There have been a few expeditions to go to Antarctica in the past few years, but none reported missing or damaged. And none with anyone named Everest."

Ryder sighed. "How good are you at hacking, Rocky?"

Rocky looked back at his leader, surprised that he would even bring up the concept of such a thing.

"Uh, not bad." He replied, but then he covered his tracks. "Not that I've ever tried before."

Ryder smiled. Then it was back to business. "I want you to hack into the databases of all major scientific organizations that would have an interest in going to Antarctica. Better try the government as well."

Rocky looked back at Ryder. "Geeze, Ryder, I'm a mechanical expert, not a computer genius. Something like that would not only take a very long time, but it seems like it would be more up your alley."

Ryder smiled. "I guess you're probably right. I'll take a swing at it."

"Just remember that this is extremely illegal." Rocky cautioned as he left the computer. Before Ryder could reach it, though, the hospital called. He put them up on the big screen.

"Ah, Ryder, you're still awake." The doctor said.

"Just running some late night errands. What's up?"

"Oh, well, I've had a long day, and I actually forgot to tell you earlier that Chase is good to go. So, sorry to bother you at such a late hour, but I thought I could try one more time before going home for the night."

"It's okay, doc. Can you tell Skye to bring Chase over in the morning?"

"If she's still awake, then yes. Otherwise I'll just tell her in the morning."

"Thanks, doctor."

After the good doctor was gone, Ryder turned back to Rocky. "All right, let's do this."

* * *

When the doctor informed Skye of her new duties, she was of course not pleased. But, she knew it had to be done, on Ryder's orders.

After the doctor convinced her that Marshall would be fine at the hospital by himself, he convinced her that she should get some sleep if she were to be flying in the morning. She reluctantly agreed.

She slept well that night. She awoke at nine, and she knew Chase was already mad at her for being late. She slowly got up and gave Marshall a goodbye kiss before heading to Chase's room to pick him up.

Skye was still, of course, mad, but she was still mightily surprised when she saw that Chase's room was, in fact, completely empty.

* * *

 **Okay, so a disclaimer about the past two chapters: I know little of police procedures and police dog procedures, and I also do not work at a hospital. I realize that some of the situations presented in the last two chapters are fairly unrealistic, such as the police station kicking Chase out or a doctor calling personally late at night to say that a patient that has healed remarkably fast is ready to go. Just remember that this is fiction. Don't take anything TOO literally, and we'll be fine. Thank you, and good night.**


	19. Chapter 18- The Search Begins

Skye walked out to the hallway and looked both directions. There was nobody there. She walked around, lowly calling out Chase's name. She was still too angry to panic, but there was some slight worry building in the pit of her stomach. Eventually, she saw Chase's doctor, standing in the middle of the hallway and using his smartphone.

When he saw her he seemed to jump a little and quickly put away his phone.

"Oh, it's only you, Skye." He said with a relieved tone. "I was just, um, well, I use my phone to plan my day out. I was looking at my schedule."

"Uh huh." Skye said, unconvinced. However, she wasn't there to catch a potentially slacking doctor. "Have you seen Chase this morning?" She asked.

The doctor laughed a bit. "Well, yes, but that was about 8 hours ago. At 1 o'clock." Then the doc put on a worried expression. "Wait, if you're asking, that means you haven't seen him either. Is he not in his room?"

"No, he isn't." Skye said, bluntly.

"Oh my. Unless they still haven't updated my sheet, it says on my clipboard that he was never checked out. You're sure he's gone?"

Skye glared at him. "Well, I didn't check the ceiling…" She said, in a sarcastic tone. "OF COURSE HE'S GONE."

The doctor backed off. "Alright. I suppose he could still be here, but this is a big hospital to check. Even so, I would think that someone would have spotted him by now. There are a lot of people here. I'll check if anyone has seen him."

The doctor walked hurriedly away.

When Rocky woke up, he was slightly surprised to find himself in the Lookout, but then he remembered the situation. He looked over at the main computer, where he saw Ryder, hunched down and apparently sleeping on the keyboard.

Rocky got up and woke him up.

"Did you do this all night?" Rocky asked, when Ryder was awake enough.

"I think so." Ryder said. "I didn't find anything worthwhile, though. I'm going to get some sleep, you can get breakfast and continue where I left off if you want."

"Sure, Ryder."

Before Ryder was halfway across the room, though, he received a call from the hospital. When he tapped the icon, Chase's doctor's face appeared. He looked stressed.

"Hello, Ryder." He said, speaking quickly. "Chase has gone missing."

"What?" Ryder asked, a bit confused. He was still half asleep.

The doctor continued like he hadn't heard Ryder at all. "He wasn't in his room when Skye went to pick him up this morning, and no one in the hospital has seen him yet today."

Now Ryder was mostly awake. "Have you had the security cameras checked yet?"

"They're checking them now. Don't worry, we take missing patients very seriously around here. I just thought you ought to know about the situation."

"Well, thank you. But I can't just sit here and do nothing when one of my best pups is nowhere to be found."

"There's really nothing you can do, Ryder. We have it all covered."

"I just want to know one thing."

"Alright, one thing. Please make it quick."

"What was the last thing you and Chase talked about?"

"Well, I went into his room to ask if he wanted to go home. He said he would like too."

Ryder nodded. "Was there anything unusual?"

The doctor looked around him. "I'm not sure I should tell you this, but he seemed to be fresh off a good tear-fest when I entered that room."

"He was crying?"

"That's what it looked like, yes."

"Alright, thanks doc. Tell me if anything develops there, please."

The doctor nodded and signed off. Ryder immediately called Skye.

Skye didn't seem the least bit surprised to see him.

"Hi, Ryder." She said. "I swear, I had nothing to do with Chase's disappearance."

Ryder frowned. "I wasn't going to accuse you, Skye. I just need to know if you and Chase talked at all last night."

Now Skye frowned. "Yeah, we did. It wasn't pleasant."

"What happened, Skye?"

"I went in there to check on him or something, and somehow he ended up telling me his life's story. I don't know exactly what happened, it was really late. After he finished he got really irritated for some reason and… well, he wasn't nice."

"He told you his life story?" Ryder asked, showing no concern for the other parts of Skye's story.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"I'm not really sure yet. I'll contact you later, okay?"

Skye looked like she was about to say something else, but she ended up just nodding as Ryder signed off.

Ryder paced the Lookout for about the next hour, deep in thought. As soon as another call from the hospital came in, though, he was right on it.

"Have you found anything?" Ryder asked, urgently. He had an idea of where Chase might be heading, but he needed to know whether or not he had left the hospital.

The doctor seemed set aback by Ryder's intenseness. "Um, yes. They checked the security cameras. Chase left the building at about 2 AM." The doctor looked down and shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Ryder. I don't know how no one saw him leaving."

"It's alright doctor. Thanks for the information."

"We already have search teams searching the area. If he's around here, it shouldn't be too hard to spot him."

"I don't think that will be necessary, doc."

"Why not?"

"Because Chase isn't around here. I need to go."

"Of course. Good luck, Ryder."

The doctor hung up. Ryder called the Paw Patrol.

It didn't take long at all for everyone to be ready for action, as all the pups (except Skye, who was still able to fly over fairly fast) were still right outside when the call was made.

When they were all lined up, Ryder looked down the line. In the past month, the team had gone from five (not including himself) to six and then all the way down to four.

Noticing the silence of their leader, Rocky spoke up. "Uh, Ryder, we're ready for action."

Ryder snapped out of it. "Oh, yeah. I'll cut right to the…, well, chase. Chase needs our help. He has gone missing from the hospital and it is confirmed that he left around 2 last night. We need to find him and bring him back here."

"Do you have any idea where we could look?" Rubble said.

"Yes, I do. Pups, we're going to the city."

 **For any who found that chapter end vague, all will be answered next chapter.**


End file.
